To teach is to briefly take part in a child's life.

Today I am grieving the loss of two of my former students' brothers. One was 22 and an aspiring musician named Myles Davis. He passed away after trying to move a downed wire off the road last week. The other was a 17 year-old boy named Edwin Whitehead who was about to start his senior year. He drowned in a lake yesterday afternoon.

It's not the same to lose the relative of a former student as it is to lose a former student -- I should know, as one of my first students named Kevin Garcia died last year in a car accident. He was only 18. I still feel an indelible sadness every time I remember Kevin's smile. But while losing the loved one of a former student is not the same, it still hurts, because I know my former student is suffering.

I grieve every time I hear about a child's death because it seems unfair, almost cruel. It makes me question my mortality -- am I not as invincible as I seem? It even makes me question my faith -- why does God have to take someone whose life is just beginning?

In trying to answer these questions, I learn lessons that are as valuable as they are grueling. I've learned that to teach is to briefly take part in a child's life. Sometimes I am fortunate and the experience transcends graduation -- I have former students that I still keep in touch with, along with their families. I've also learned not to take my students for granted, as sometimes they are taken away too soon. I have been teaching 7 years, roughly 120-150 students a year. That's a lot of students, a lot of lives that have touched mine. I hope I've touched theirs, too, at least in some small way.

As I type this, I have the Davis, Whitehead, and Garcia families in my thoughts and prayers. The pull of tears at the back of my throat has been with me all day, as well as the reminder that life is fleeting and never to be taken for granted.

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Luck of the Irish

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of this day, I will write all in green font! :-D

Yesterday I took my Professional Educator's Certification Exam and tomorrow, Wednesday, I will be taking the English Educator's Certification Exam. You need a 270 to pass and I got a 295 on the Professional Educator's Exam, which hopefully means I passed, but I need to wait and see the score I got for the essay... I feel like I passed, but I don't want to get my hopes up just in case!!!

So hopefully tomorrow I will have the luck of the Irish with me as I take my remaining exam. I have all of this afternoon and evening to study. Send me good thoughts around 1:30 PM EST tomorrow -- I'll need it!

P.S.) Why is it called the Luck of the Irish? Is it just because of leprechauns and shamrocks? Because I don't think it's entirely fair that the Irish have sole possession of all luck.... ;-)

Books and apples and junk

More ficletty goodness! Read them here and here.

Today I went back in to my classroom with Ricky and finished two of my bulletin boards. The one that's kind of like a store window, facing the hallway, I decorated with pink paper and butterfly border plus two big, bright butterflies. According to Ricky, they look real and since I stuck them there with tacks, he says that only helps achieve the life-like effect that much more. I've got to remember to take some pics with my cell tomorrow, so I can post them here.

The other board's not as exciting, it has a teal background and a teachery border, all books and apples and junk. This one will be my FYI board, where I'll post important announcements and the like.

I'm feeling better about my new room. At first I was eh. I felt like I'd been kicked out of a club or something, after being moved from the main building. But today I got my room keys for the first time plus they moved over almost all of my old furniture so it's starting to feel like home. It helps that it's getting all prettiful, thanks to Ricky's decorating skills with posters and boards. I really have to remember to take pics of the room when it's done.

Well, I'm watching the latest episode of "No Reservations," which takes place in Tokyo. Man, I want to go back. I feel like I didn't fully appreciate my time there. Anthony Bourdain also posted a great blog entry about his experience. You can read that here, along with his other, previous entries about his other travels.