A person goes through several stages in their life. Some people make gradual changes, others radical shifts. The ensuing pages tell of a former East Coast banker’s experience teaching on the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona Tucson Tucson Arizona
The school district hired new teachers with the promise of cheap housing; a one bedroom apartment was a mere $100 a month. Once a teacher accepted the position, they often discovered teacher housing was full. My first year, there were several Apache teachers and administrators who were living in teacher housing, while renting their homes. As I was never promised housing, I applauded their financial ingenuity. Although I would have enjoyed the low rent and the proximity to work, I was glad that I did not live on the reservation. It was good to have a break. Some of the teachers told me they drove into town to get away at night, it was too depressing. Others told me about drunken bums coming to their apartment to beg for money.
Much to my surprise and dismay, the search for an apartment took longer than I expected. There were no apartment complexes in the communities near the reservation. For two weeks I lived at the casino hotel, while I searched for an apartment. I soon established an enjoyable routine. Upon returning from school, I relished coming back to a clean room; I would swim in the pool or work out in the exercise room. I dined at the restaurant with a glass of wine. After dinner, I would prepare for work or search for an apartment. I ended the evening with a nightcap at the bar and managed to stay away from the slot machines. If I could have afforded to live there, I would not have moved.
I found an apartment in Globe, an old mining town of 49,000, nestled in the Pinal Mountains San Carlos Gila County Miami Arizona
My apartment, an older downtown building, was near two other new teachers. Tam was a fifth grade teacher, who I worked closely with, particularly in planning Social Studies. She was a Vietnamese refugee, who spent time in the Peace Corps teaching in Thailand New York City Iowa
As with any new position, there was an orientation. In the business world, they never lasted more than an hour or two; in education it was a week. The first day was for new hires. We were introduced to the administrators and some of the school board members. I learned the myth of the silent Indian was just that, the Apaches love to hear their voice, as they rambled on mostly off topic. I learned the Eastern political correct term of Native American does not apply, the Apaches call themselves Indians.
We were loaded on a bus and given a tour of the reservation. The first stop was the casino. Due to allegations of fraud and corruption, the casino ceased giving the tribal council money. The casino provides jobs but the money to support the tribe is in a special account. According to the school superintendent, Dr. Bush, the school did not benefit. We took a tour of the game and fish offices and drove past the lumber mill, which were major employers. We drove through several of the housing projects, with their cookie cutter houses. There were a few residents who showed pride of ownership. In other cases, I was reminded of the inner city, with broken windows and graffiti. If you are given something, often you do not value it. At the Apache Cultural Center
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation spans Gila, Graham, and Pinal Counties Arizona
meadows to desert. Encompassing 1,834,781 acres, the San Carlos Apache
Reservation was established on November 9, 1871 . Over one-third of the land is forested or wooded; forest lands, with their jumbled topography, create a superb natural habitat for many wildlife species, such as elk, mule deer, turkeys, black bear and mountain lion. A portion of the reservation is contiguous with the largest stand of ponderosa pines in the world. The reservation has a population of 7,100 Apaches from various old bands, making it the seventh largest reservation in the United States
The week was to be a time to meet with administration, fellow teachers and work in our classrooms. I was introduced to the school district as the one who came from New York Arizona
I rode in a carpool with Tam, Diana, Cindy and Shirlene. Diana Kauers was the fifth grade team leader, who hired me. She was very influential at the school and I was fortunate that we got along splendidly. We had a symbiotic relationship. Diana helped me deal with the administration and I helped her with student council. Diana had been at the school for five years and made a few enemies. Some of it was jealousy. Some of it was politics. I witnessed what happened if you crossed her. Although I did not work on student council, a paid position, I was scheduled to work in the school store more than normal. Then Diana paired me with a teacher, who never showed up for her duty, so I worked by myself. I questioned her about the schedule and asked to be paired with Shirlene, a reliable aide. For my injudicious remark, I was scheduled to work every Friday. Diana could be domineering and petty at times but there was sadness to her. You needed to be perceptive to catch a glimpse of it because she kept it well hidden. I saw glimpses of it. Diana had a tender side and often invited me to her home for dinner. Diana and I had our ups and downs but she helped me through a tough year, I have forgotten the arguments and remember our teasing the students. She told them that we were brother and sister. Diana was a blonde, with a classic Nordic look, which is the opposite of my Mediterranean look. The students asked why we had different last names, to which I responded Mrs. Kauers took her husband’s name when she married. They believed us. In a way it was true because Diana looked after me like a big sister.
Cindy was the TAP teacher. The TAP room was a special classroom for students who had difficulty behaving in a regular classroom. Cindy and Diana were close friends. Cindy was also on excellent terms with the administration because she helped solve the problem of where to put borderline juvenile delinquent children. One of her students killed his puppies and experienced no remorse. Whenever I saw him, I though of the scene in Rebel Without A Cause, where the detective asked Sal Mineo why he killed the puppies.
Shirlene was the aforementioned reliable aide. She was assigned to the fifth grade but spent 85% of her time in Diana’s room. All of the aides were Apache with varying degrees of work ethics. Shirlene, the only aide who took work home, was the most dedicated. I cannot blame Diana for wanting to monopolize her. Shirlene was taking courses at the local community college and will make an excellent teacher. She had an excellent rapport with the students, was creative and hard working.
My classroom was the old home economics room. The students sat at what appeared to be old sewing tables. They were big boxes with plugs on the sides and the students would bang their knees on the sides. The setting was more conducive to chattering than to studying. The chalkboard was not mounted on the wall but sat on a table and leaned against the wall. I had stoves, a washing machine, a dryer and sinks but it took a week to get textbooks and a computer. Despite the dismal setting, I was full of enthusiasm.
The first week was time to get to know my students through various activities, set classroom rules and consequences, and gauge student academic abilities. I read Harry Wong’s The First Days and felt very prepared. Mr. Wong stressed the importance of having the classroom prepared when the students entered. Because I could not get into the room until Sunday, I was still getting the room set up as students were entering the room. Mr. Wong said to great the students at the door; I was standing on the counter.
Looking back, the students were probably dismayed upon entering the room. The school grouped students based on academics and I had one of the lowest groups. They knew it. They probably looked at the tables, the chalkboard leaning on the wall and missing ceiling tiles and felt the school did not care about them. The brighter students had a better classroom. They had the only male teacher in fifth grade. He was new (half the fifth grade team was new). Obviously, the new guy does not know anything because the first thing he tells us is we are special. He says he is from New York Bronx . The other teachers’ desks are in the front of the classroom and his in the back.
The book I read on classroom management stated the importance of getting to know the students. What better time than the first week because I was still waiting for several textbooks. I tried several activities that took minutes instead of hours because there was no student participation. The students talked amongst themselves but would not share with the whole class. I learned later that it was cultural; Apaches do not like to share in front of strangers, especially non-Apache, i.e., the new teacher. Even Tam, who had a Gifted class and was mistaken for a Hopi, had trouble.
Harry Wong said it was important to establish a routine. The first week of school, we changed the school hours. I taught Social Studies to my class and my mentor teacher’s class, while she taught science. The schedule we set up was changed due to the change in school hours. Physical Education was rescheduled. Later, our lunchtime was rescheduled and we lost recess. It appeared I needed structure more than my students did for they were not disturbed by the changes.
I considered the first week with all of the changes as preseason. The official season started the second week; I had my textbooks and was ready. It did not bother me that my class was low. I could work with any class provided they made an effort. I reviewed, slowed down the pace and gave more examples. Several weeks into the semester, I still had problems with participation, particularly the sharing of ideas and opinions. For example, I had a difficult time getting a response to questions such as
Would you recommend the story?
What did you like about the story?
What didn’t you like about the story?
I wondered if they were afraid of criticism from their peers or what I thought? It was frustrating. It took time for some students to grasp the concept of odd and even numbers and to differentiate between subject and predicates. The two main projects that we worked on at the beginning of the year, outside of math and Language Arts, was a personal history for Social Studies and social skills. To introduce Social Studies I had them define history, political science, economics and geography. I read an excerpt from a newspaper article in the travel section on Antietem. It illustrated that Social Studies does not only occur in textbooks. I gave a Social Studies assignment were the students designed the United States
The first month I spent as much time on behavior as I did on academics. I informed them that I was not their previous teacher, who was lax on behavior. They could not simply get up and leave without permission, even if they need to go to the bathroom. I informed them that I had high expectations for students who will be going to junior high in a year. I told them I expected better behavior. I had several chronic behavior problems. Daryl did well academically but though she could do whatever she wanted. To draw attention to himself, Westin disturbed the class. All classes have a joker and I had Kenny. Byron had latent criminal tendencies. If I had desks, I could separate the behavior problems. I continued to shuffle the students in the search of the right combination.
The most difficult aspect being in the classroom was behavior. While theory was fine, reality was different. There were students who did not fit the theorists mold. Just as it does not take a lot of arsenic to kill you, it does not take many behavior problems to poison the class. I had several incorrigible students. Westin was mentally disturbed. He had a head injury and I inquired with the school psychologist if it affected his behavior. Westin would make animal sounds and behave in bizarre ways. One day he had put his hand down his pants and was playing with himself. Fortunately, he sat in the back of the class.
Daryl was very combative. I discovered that her father and perhaps her stepfather sexually molested her. While it made me more sympathetic it did not excuse her behavior. It would have been better if she had a female teacher.
The school had a special classroom for students who had difficulty behaving in a regular classroom; it was called the TAP room. The students could work their way out of the program into a regular classroom. I received a student into my volatile mix of students. At first Derrick behaved well but he was soon influenced by the less desirable element.
Shortly after Derrick’s arrival, I received Nathan Little, a deaf boy. He was tossed out of the Arizona School Arizona
Lanny was just trouble. He would get lunch detention but would run off, even if he had a student escort. I had duties at lunch time, so I could not escort him. I sent him to the principal’s office and she did nothing. Lanny knew the principal would do nothing so his behavior did not improve. He accepted the punishment from me but knew I could only go so far. He had learned the system. I submitted paperwork to have him sent to the TAP room but our principal Mrs. Steele denied my request. There was a meeting, where I could have presented my case. I was not informed of the meeting until after it occurred.
I never got along with the principal, whom I found to be grossly incompetent. Apparently, Mrs. Steele could not keep order in her classroom so she was made an administrator. As a federal funds coordinator, Mrs. Steele did not get the paperwork in on time losing the district several million dollars. I do not doubt the veracity of the story. After my first evaluation, I was to receive a copy within 48 hours; instead I received it several weeks late. In the end, Mrs. Steele became principal of the intermediate school. She relied on others to cover her weaknesses, particularly Diana Kauers, the fifth grade team leader. Mrs. Steele would have the staff discuss a problem and then make an arbitrary and capricious decision, disregarding what we discussed. She would claim her authority as principal in making the decision. At a staff meeting Mrs. Steele wanted a discussion on field day, which our physical education teacher had scheduled for weeks. After approving the schedule she decided to have them after the Stanford 9 tests, which were in mid April. A few teachers disagreed, citing the effects of the May heat on the students, but were bluntly told, Mrs. Steele had decided. I did not mind her making unilateral decisions but did not appreciate my time being wasted by unlistened to discussion. As a new teacher, I resented the principal’s lack of support, particularly with discipline. I was not allowed to go to a conference on classroom discipline. When I asked for an explanation of why I was not approved to go, I was told, “I must have had a reason but I don’t remember.” Later, I discovered teacher with several years experience took my place. During my evaluation, I was told I should go to conferences and workshops. Jimmy Buffet’s adage, “If we didn’t laugh, we would go insane,” applied to my dealings with the principal. If I needed something, I would go through Diana Kauers, who would talk to Mrs. Steele. Mrs. Steele would call me in and inform me of an idea she had, which was surprisingly similar to my original idea. It was an awkward system, but it worked.
To improve behavior, I added social skills to the curricula. We discussed rules, choices and consequences. I spoke of rules in various contexts. In order to win, you need to play by the rules. Life is full of choices. Success is a choice. I reviewed rules and the new consequences of not following them. My social or success skills covered a variety of topics: patience, organization, cooperation, effort, responsibility, integrity, initiative, flexibility, perseverance, sense of humor, common sense, problem solving, friendship, curiosity and caring. First I would define the term. I would give examples of the term, for instance integrity, and then the students would give examples. The next day, I would read a story about the subject. The students would write in their journals and finally we would have a discussion about the subject. We would spend one week on the topic.
My first parent-teacher conference occurred in mid September. Daryl Early’s parents arrived unexpectedly during lunch. I discussed her behavior and lack of work. I told them she is bright and capable, which her high test scores showed. It was decided I would send a note home concerning her work and behavior. Her mother did most of the talking while the stepfather observed. Daryl worked and behaved well in the afternoon, but it was not sustained.
The next night was open house. Eight parents, about one-third of the class, came in to visit me. There is always food, which provides an incentive to come to school. I gave the parents information concerning my grading, homework and behavior policy. One parent I spoke with was Lanny’s mother. It was decided that if he did not work, she would come in and sit with him. Westin’s mother said he could not sit for long periods and had a short attention span.
At the end of September, I taught my must amusing Social Studies unit. I taught about Native Americans. I began by giving an overview of the major groups. They were familiar with Southwest tribes but had little knowledge of the Eastern tribes. A few were surprised that there are tribes east of Oklahoma San Carlos
Academically, I taught math and Language Arts by following the texts. I supplemented the stories with a video or music. For example, we read a story about the Alvin Ally Dance Theater and I showed a video on Alvin Ally. I was shocked by the prejudicial comments I heard about blacks. I thought being minorities, they would not be so judgmental of other minorities. I brought in jazz tapes to play. The students had hitherto never heard jazz music. My mentor teacher went on leave due to problems with her teacher certificate, so I no longer switched with her class and taught science. Science and Social Studies consisted mainly of projects. In addition to the report on Native Americans, there were reports on explorers and an ocean report for science. One of our favorite weekly activities was going to Ms. Schrum’s class to read to the kindergarten students. It was not only a chance for my students to practice reading aloud, it improved their self-esteem. The Gifted students did not have reading partners. Two other fifth grade classes followed suit and found reading partner but we were the first. It was important for them to be first at something. They became very protective of their young partners.
The most interesting aspect of teaching was the students. In reading about the early days of the year, you got the impression they were all juvenile delinquents. There were a few but not all.
Byron was a behavior problem but he was also a leader. I noticed one day that he got in trouble but his “boys” did not. Byron lost recess and had to sit out; his “boys” sat with him. When his boys had to sit out, Byron played basketball. I realized if I was able to turn Byron, many of my behavior problems would cease. The opportunity came one day when the class was discussing what they wanted to do after they finished school. Byron told the class he wanted to join the Marines. I informed him that it was difficult to get in the Marines. I told Byron they would look at his school files, both academic records and behavior. Byron’s behavior improved dramatically; for example he volunteered to write a letter to two pen pals because the class had a few more students. Byron was my great success because he went from a leader of the bad boys to an honor roll student. When I made my career change, I thought I would have an impact on all of my students. An instructor told me to be successful; I only had to reach one. Although Byron’s change improved class behavior, it did not eliminate the problems.
After I discovered that Daryl had been sexually molested, I tried to give her a little leeway but could only go so far. She received several detentions a week. Daryl tried to run off when given detention. Unlike Lanny, she rode the bus and I escorted her off the bus. Daryl only tried once. When I discovered Daryl was being abused, I took pity on her and made every effort to be patient and understanding. For a month it worked; however, in the long run it failed. I resisted Mrs. Steele’s suggestion to put her in Mrs. Grainger’s TAP room. In the end, I submitted the paper work; her fellow students wanted her to go. I realized that I could only do so much as teacher and some effort had to be made by the student. If Byron was my success, Daryl was my failure. Daryl was not sent to Mrs. Grainger. Again I was not informed of the meeting to present my case. In the end, I exchanged Daryl for another behavior problem from another class. Daryl behaved better for a female teacher. The administration set up a conflict that could have been avoided if they placed her with a female teacher at the beginning of the year.
Byron was my success; Daryl was my failure; Daphanie was my favorite. She did well academically and was rarely in trouble. Daphanie was a great help and had a pleasant personality. She was trusted with important assignments, such as delivering important notes and escorting students. I knew I had to reteach a lesson when Daphanie did not understand. Unfortunately when you are praised for good effort, others resent you. This phenomenon is more pronounced on the reservation where excelling is generally discouraged. We were working on a craft project in December. As were cleaning up, Daphanie discovered someone stole her wooden tube that held her needles, which was given to her by her aunt. There was an extensive search and no confession. Although the entire class missed the bus, the culprit was never discovered. Alas, it was not to be an isolated incident. The class received Christmas gifts from their New York
Francesca was a troubled youth, who I suspected as the thief. Since Francesca believed the world owed her because she was dealt a tough hand. Francesca was not a pleasant person to be around, she had no friends. Francesca complained about Lanny bothering her. Byron, Joel and Kenny always talked, so I decided to solve both problems by changing Joel and Francesca’s seats. Francesca refused to move. It was the first in a long series of acts of insubordination. One day we were reading and I noticed Francesca with no book. I told her to get her book. Francesca replied that she left it home. I told her to come up and get a book. Francesca said, “I don’t feel like walking up to get it.” I gave her detention but it had no affect on her behavior. Francesca went to counseling but our counselor’s idea of counseling was letting them play on the computer while she did her paper work. Francesca had several running feuds with students. She showed her defiance in front of the principal during my observation. Francesca lived with several family members before being sent to live in the youth home. She carried a chip on her shoulder; perhaps it was a defensive mechanism. Francesca did not allow herself to get close to anyone. Although we clashed, I felt pity for her. I only saw her happy once when here case worker brought her to the school carnival. I gave her some tickets to play the games.
Joel was another incorrigible student, with a chip on his shoulder. When the class received presents from the pen pals in New York
Clarita McIntosh was one of my most memorable students. She came in low academically and spent more time talking and fooling around than on academics. One day I was teaching about manners (something that did not exist) and how to properly address someone as Mr., Mrs. or Miss. To demonstrate, I was addressing the students by their surnames. I was grading papers and I noticed Clarita put her name as Miss McIntosh. When I was returning the papers, I addressed her as Miss McIntosh and she visibly swelled with pride. From that moment on, she was Miss McIntosh and her grades improved. A teacher needs to be cognizant of little changes that can have a major impact. Clarita’s behavior improved but there were a few instances were it was subpar. She had a terrific skill of diffusing a situtation with her humor, which probably let her get away with more. Her sense of humor probably saved the class because Clarita sensed when I needed a laugh to change my state of mind. Although education is serious business, teachers do not need to take themselves so seriously. A little laughter was good for the class and Clarita did not use it as a distraction.
The following year, I transferred to third grade, which was a good move. Unlike the turbulent fifth grade team, there was a solid core of teachers. Lori Brockmeier was my mentor and neighbor, we shared an adjoining door. My other neighbor was Jennifer McDonald. Both helped and gave advice on how to set up my classroom. My first year teaching I was on my own; my second year teaching I was part of a team. My second year teaching was more enjoyable and less frustrating. I could go to someone with my questions and get answers. The adjoining door was used a great deal, although it was mostly me going to Lori, she would come to me as well. I received constructive criticism from my mentor, Lori and team leader, Jennifer. For instance, they were concerned with the hugs I returned to students. They warned me that there were employees who liked to stir up trouble and I should not make myself a target. The students were starved for attention but the system forbade it. The students needs were not a part of the San Carlos
The following journal entry shows that despite the grade level some things do not change, especially at the beginning of the year.
I have spent the past two days focusing on discipline. I am reviewing the rules and enforcing the consequences. I have I have had several students lose recess today and yesterday. I need to be tough but I also need to give the students more work. I have been hindered by administration switching what I can teach.
I have rearranged the seating today in an effort to improve classroom management. I have several students who constantly misbehave. If I focus on behavior at the beginning it will make the rest of the year easier. It is a good investment. The poor behavior would erode time from academics.
I had a pocket chart with cardholders labeled for each student. Each holder had four different color cards. Green meant you were behaving; yellow was a warning; orange meant you lost recess and red was lunch detention. It was much more efficient than writing their name on the board and putting checks by it. After a few weeks, I put up a chart, where every day a student’s card was not turned they got a sticker. If you got five stickers in a week you got an incentive.
At the end of September, I introduced the marble jar and star bucks to the class. I wanted to reward positive behavior. The stickers were one way but I needed more ways. I wanted to find ways to reach the heretofore incorrigible students. It seemed the ones that did their work were rewarded with more work. I needed other options. Star Bucks were rewarded for positive behavior, such as cooperation, academic excellence and integrity. They were earned individually and were used to purchase a cut in line, a free homework pass and time on the computer. When the class was behaving well, I would put marbles in a jar. When the jar was full, the class earned a party or video. The objective was to get peer pressure to alter the behavior of the incorrigible malcontents.
After several weeks, I did an assessment for math and spelling. The average grades were 68% and 66% respectively. I explained the low grades to the students. I explained that they need to do their school work and homework. I informed them that they needed to ask questions if they did not understand. I told them it is not stupid to ask a question. I said it was stupid to remain silent and fail. I lowered the pace of the class due to the low grades. I focused on math, grammar and reading, the core courses of a solid education.
I was concerned about the lack of homework output. Only about one-third of the class did it. I discussed the problem with several teachers. Mrs. Derhammer does not give math homework. Since they don’t bring it in, she has the students do it in class. I think that is a defeatist attitude. Mrs. McDonald kept students after school, which was not an option with the tardy late bus. Ms. Brockmeier had the students come in at recess, which was the best alternative. It was sad that a Kindergarten student in Virginia San Carlos
I worked to establish a schedule and establish a work routine. I began the day with the math meeting. We followed the meeting with reading. I wanted it to be the same as when we implemented Success For All. After recess, we did a math lesson. Third grade math lessons were more time intensive than fifth grade. In the afternoon, we finished any math and did Language Arts. There was plenty of work for the morning but not the afternoon. Lori, Jennifer and I wanted to team-teach but we had to await the principal’s decision. After several weeks, a decision was made and I was able to set the schedule. The following was a typical day in my third grade class. The morning was routine was handing in homework, attendance, reciting the pledge and a moment of silence. We had our math meeting, which consisted of a few calendar activities, counting by a given number, e.g. fives, sevens, sixes (to enhance multiplication skills), solving a pattern and a word problem. The students were then dispersed to their respective SFA classes. I taught reading for 90 minutes. The students returned from reading and went out to recess. The remainder of the morning was spent on a math lesson. After lunch, we switched, I taught health; Lori taught Social Studies and Jennifer taught science. When the students returned, there was a brief spelling lesson. The afternoons we did not switch, I taught writing. There was a gym class once a week.
A digression concerning Success For All. The year before I came, the staff decided to switch reading texts. I enjoyed using the texts because they stories were integrated with grammar and spelling lessons. The spelling words were from the reading text. As a new teacher, it helped having a recommended lesson plan for the week. After using the texts for only a year, the administration decided to switch to Success For All. Success For All is a scripted program, as is Saxon Math, our math program, which given the caliber of some of the staff was a benefit. During the daily 90-minute reading periods, students were regrouped across age lines so that each class had groups reading at the same level. This eliminated the need for reading groups within classes. There was a phonics component for students who cannot read, which I approved. I did not find the cooperative learning component to be productive. When I placed my students in groups of four with their desks facing each other rather than the board, it was an invitation to talk. Our school voted to implement the program. Diana became the coordinator, which was a factor in my transferring to third grade.
The school did not implement Success For All until the third quarter. The primary school principal obtained supplies for her school, which our principal failed to do. The primary school principal was more organized and fought for her school. In a battle over which school would begin the program on time, it was no contest. The primary school had half days when they trained for the program, however, our school taught all day and then had to sit through hours of training. Success For All failed at our school because it did not have administrative support.
I learned about yin and yang, that there was balance to the universe. The majority of the class, the fulcrum, was of average intelligence and behaved well most of the time. I had four angels and four devils.
The brightest of my angels was Shawna Kenton. Shawna was a very intelligent girl, who liked to “hide her light under a basket”. Ninety percent of the time Shawna knew the answer; however, she was very shy. Often Apache women do not draw attention to themselves. Shawna quickly became my number one assistant. I trusted her to grade papers and run errands. Shawna was my greatest success. She earned an honor roll certificate for four quarters and was able to test into the Gifted program. In fourth grade, the shy girl, who whispered answers won the Miss Rice Intermediate Apache contest. The following year, the girl, who hid behind me when speaking to other adults, was elected student council president.
Felicia Henry was another bright light, who had wonderful sense of humor.
Her talents were overlooked the first several months of the year. As Felicia grew in self-confidence her grades improved. I entrusted her with more responsibility, as she grew to become a trusted helper. She had a great sense of humor. Although Felicia failed the exam for the Gifted program in third grade, she passed it in fourth grade. If I recognized her talents earlier, perhaps Felicia would have been able to pass the exam the first time. Jocelyn and Myron were my other to helpers.
An example of the devil’s behavior occurred in September. Danny, Robert and Leon were choking girls from my class and Ms Brockmeier’s class with a jump rope. One day Leon
I had an interesting experience on the morning of September 9; Kendrick Rope, who had been absent for 20 days thus far, did not come to school. I had to leave my classroom and climb a mesa to talk with him. Kendrick told me his mother kicked him out and he was crying. Kendrick said his mother was always out drinking with her friends. She spent all his money drinking. The federal government gives families an allowance for each child and the children consider it their money. Some Apaches view children as a source of income and take in children of their relatives. I hear of one couple who had twelve children sleeping on a dirt floor. When Kendrick saw his mother he sat down again and would not go in the house. Nanie the parent liaison spoke to him and he still refused. Finally we told him to come to school tomorrow. If Kendrick did not come to school someone was sent to pick him up. His presence had negative repercussions, as he was a behavior problem. Kendrick came to school with low skills and his absence had lowered them. When he came to school, he fooled around. Eventually Kendrick was sent to the youth home because his mother did not want him. The social worker was shocked at his low grades. I explained his absences and lack of work. I gave him the work Kendrick needed to do get caught up.
Conclusion
I spent four years teaching on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. My subsequent years teaching third grade were easier, after learning from my mistakes. When teaching became routine, I could function on autopilot, I knew it was time to move on. “I have had good days and bad days and going half mad days.” That describes a year in teaching. I reached a few students and made an impact on their life. I hope I planted seeds that may blossom later in others. I provided a sanctuary for the students. My classroom was a place where students could come to get out of the inclement weather or a place to feel safe in the morning. A common perception of the desert is sunshine and dry heat, however, lack of clouds means during the night there is a twenty degree temperature shift. Many of my students did not have coats or jackets, so my classroom was a warm place to be on a chilly morning. News traveled quickly and often had unknown students coming in to get warmed up. Other teachers did not have an open door policy. As long as they did not disturb me while I was working, they were free to stay.
Although there was a lot of frustration, which was mostly with administration, I could balance every behavior problem with a bright light. For every Leon Phoenix
No comments:
Post a Comment