Let's Give Our Kids a Chance in Life - Keep Them Away From Using Alcohol and Drugs!
"He who opens a school door, closes a prison." -Victor Hugo
Teaching for two decades or so, this quote impacted me so much.
We can actually keep kids out of actual prison. Or, figuratively speaking, the prison of ignorance.
Well, in a perfect society whereby parents are educated enough to ensure their kids have values and all--and teaching them not to commit crimes of any kind--could only be possible.
Since I started teaching I was always assigned to handle so-called least, last and lost... I had this feeling of absorbing all their stress in life. Some were products of broken homes, dysfunctional head of the family, absentee parent due to drugs, alcoholism, gone overseas to work as domestic helper or laborer, etc to support their families. I could feel their angst in life, especially the older kids or repeaters due to behavioral problems, truancy, reading problems, among other personal issues.
I remember one time I had to see literally "stars" when one very angry boy punched me on my jaw while I was trying to stop them hitting each other in front of my class. I was a newbie teacher then, and never expected such a thing could happen to me. From then on, I avoided being a "sandwiched" between two fighting kids. I did not want to see the "moon, sun and planets" anymore... or worse, the "black hole"!
However, the desire to be of help continued, and made me think of strategies to avoid such from happening. I rearranged their seats, girl seated beside boy, taller ones at the back and smaller ones at the front seats. Problematic ones beside my table so as it would be easy for me to call their attention when they were misbehaving.
Yes, it was so hard to become a disciplinarian, a psychologist, a doctor, nurse or a punching bag rolled into one, inside a classroom full of kids who just wanted attention; might be they felt nobody cares for them anymore. Being neophyte in the service then, I did not expect that my kids would be that unruly, what with their angst with them torturing them no end especially when a word or action triggered them to un-lease such a hidden demon inside their heads. In a crammed classroom of over 60 kids, sans proper ventilation and all!
Now after so many years of teaching, I always have a chance to see them in shopping malls, in school while they are tending for their own kids, some of them became FB friends and easy enough to get an update from them. Good to hear news about them doing well in their chosen field of interest. Some became teachers like me saying it's me who inspired them to teach.
Well, I would tell them: Now, you knew why I chose to become one. They would laugh at me because the journey that I had chosen then-- and been treading on-- would be theirs as well. And, I know that they will inspire also their kids to become also like them, despite the challenges of tending misbehaving kids and all.
Lately, my heart bled when a former student of mine got killed in a melee and his assailant went on hiding after the incident. His shattered dreams and untimely death made loved ones feeling the pain and remorse. It is really hard to accept the fact that despite all the efforts spent them to become good citizens and all had gone to waste because of under the influence of alcohol or drugs-a society's menace which needs full attention to eradicate.
Parents and school, together with religious communities, local government unit and concerned citizens must stand against drug addiction so as to save the youth from the actual prison or prison of ignorance. By teaching them early on the values of respecting human lives, law and order, love and compassion for our fellowmen, among other virtues... they would never go astray.
Teaching for two decades or so, this quote impacted me so much.
We can actually keep kids out of actual prison. Or, figuratively speaking, the prison of ignorance.
Well, in a perfect society whereby parents are educated enough to ensure their kids have values and all--and teaching them not to commit crimes of any kind--could only be possible.
Since I started teaching I was always assigned to handle so-called least, last and lost... I had this feeling of absorbing all their stress in life. Some were products of broken homes, dysfunctional head of the family, absentee parent due to drugs, alcoholism, gone overseas to work as domestic helper or laborer, etc to support their families. I could feel their angst in life, especially the older kids or repeaters due to behavioral problems, truancy, reading problems, among other personal issues.
I remember one time I had to see literally "stars" when one very angry boy punched me on my jaw while I was trying to stop them hitting each other in front of my class. I was a newbie teacher then, and never expected such a thing could happen to me. From then on, I avoided being a "sandwiched" between two fighting kids. I did not want to see the "moon, sun and planets" anymore... or worse, the "black hole"!
However, the desire to be of help continued, and made me think of strategies to avoid such from happening. I rearranged their seats, girl seated beside boy, taller ones at the back and smaller ones at the front seats. Problematic ones beside my table so as it would be easy for me to call their attention when they were misbehaving.
Yes, it was so hard to become a disciplinarian, a psychologist, a doctor, nurse or a punching bag rolled into one, inside a classroom full of kids who just wanted attention; might be they felt nobody cares for them anymore. Being neophyte in the service then, I did not expect that my kids would be that unruly, what with their angst with them torturing them no end especially when a word or action triggered them to un-lease such a hidden demon inside their heads. In a crammed classroom of over 60 kids, sans proper ventilation and all!
Now after so many years of teaching, I always have a chance to see them in shopping malls, in school while they are tending for their own kids, some of them became FB friends and easy enough to get an update from them. Good to hear news about them doing well in their chosen field of interest. Some became teachers like me saying it's me who inspired them to teach.
Well, I would tell them: Now, you knew why I chose to become one. They would laugh at me because the journey that I had chosen then-- and been treading on-- would be theirs as well. And, I know that they will inspire also their kids to become also like them, despite the challenges of tending misbehaving kids and all.
Lately, my heart bled when a former student of mine got killed in a melee and his assailant went on hiding after the incident. His shattered dreams and untimely death made loved ones feeling the pain and remorse. It is really hard to accept the fact that despite all the efforts spent them to become good citizens and all had gone to waste because of under the influence of alcohol or drugs-a society's menace which needs full attention to eradicate.
Parents and school, together with religious communities, local government unit and concerned citizens must stand against drug addiction so as to save the youth from the actual prison or prison of ignorance. By teaching them early on the values of respecting human lives, law and order, love and compassion for our fellowmen, among other virtues... they would never go astray.
Larry Icabandi Nabiong:
Mentoring teachers is his passion. He is a teacher-blogger, poem-writer, educational innovator, who shares his P4P or power -4 principle: power to know, change, create @ share, not only to his learners but also to his colleagues. He has been teaching for about two decades in public, grade school in the Philippines.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Icabandi_Nabiong
Mentoring teachers is his passion. He is a teacher-blogger, poem-writer, educational innovator, who shares his P4P or power -4 principle: power to know, change, create @ share, not only to his learners but also to his colleagues. He has been teaching for about two decades in public, grade school in the Philippines.
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thank you