Miscellaneous Life

Since school began, the Gramerlings have come to visit on Tuesday evenings.  It always is such a transition for me back to the classroom.  I have a pretty clear picture of how the year is going to shape up, where the strengths are, where the challenges are as well.
I had an strange experience this week.  I'm not Facebook savvy. I'm not quite sure why things appear and what my actions in response to other's posts, though rare, fall out in cyberspace.  Anyway, a disgruntled lower grade parent left our school for a public school close by.  On my fb feed was a former administrator sharing that parent's post about how wonderful her new experience has been and how horrible the former teacher was.  She had something to say about life not being black and white and too bad that teacher couldn't see the gray.  We are a small school in a small community. She might as well have said her name.  I just felt sick.  When you've spent twelve years watching someone teach and have long understood that in fact, what the teacher sees  is each individual person and works hard to love them in every color known to man.  I desperately wanted to respond in defense of this teacher.  This was  a post with  no option for commenting.
If you know me, you would know I run from this type of thing, like my tail's on fire.  I have no desire to fight on FB.  Still, my guilt was enormous to let this go, though I didn't know how to address it.
I will tell you one thing I've discovered. There are parents who have no expectation that their child should have to follow the rules.  Yes, they may find a classroom where their child is  "happy" for a time, but I've discovered this often means the teacher is overwhelmed and can only put out so many fires at one time.  What happens, parents with an expectation for their children to respond appropriately to authority have their child receiving less education than they should while a few children are ruling the classroom.  I know of which I speak.
There was only one teacher who knew the heart of everyone he taught, my Lord and Savior, Jesus.  When he sat high expectations to love your neighbor as yourself, they hated Him.  How will I or my co-teacher ever compare?
I know I wake up every day and plan for it to be good, plan to be patient, loving, kind, plan to find a way to reach a child. Still, that child who walks in every day believing that the rules don't apply to him, that he's above the expectations of our school, well, it is hard to do for hours on end.  What is always interesting to me is seeing those very people outside of school and their own frustration with the child is evident, yet they fully expect me to manage it with a smile six hours a day.  Let me say, it makes me wish their was no such thing as Facebook knowing the hurt those nasty comments have on someone undeserving.
On a different note, a new baby every week.  First my little Wayside Rosie, and this week the Captain's new boy Scout, a furbaby.

So cute.

Getting to know her cousins

What, are these more furbabies?

Showing Pap her fancy skirt.

Rae needed to attend a school orientation with Giddy-Up, so I came to care for the two little ones.  Rosie had to have her vaccinations and was not feeling well.  At various fussy times, two year old Mr. Smiley would try to comfort her, "It's okay baby, just take a deep bwef,"  Dragging a book over, "I will read her a story," and he did.  " I will sing to her," and proceeded to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle."  How dear that a little two year old knows how to comfort his sister.

Today was spent shopping for little girl things- Be still my heart.