Tuesday, February 28, 2012

What is YOUR Letter?

scarletlillianlars_1.jpg

In honor of our study of The Scarlet Letter, tomorrow my students will decorate their letters. Today I asked them to think of their own flaw, weakness, or something that has caused them secret guilt. In the novel, Hester had to publicly bear her punishment for her weakness but Dimmesdale didn't and the guilt ate away at him. I had them write down a description of their flaw, weakness, or the cause of their guilt on a piece of paper but NOT turn it in. We used the honor system. Is it possible that some of them wrote a paragraph about nothing but their love of spider monkeys or their hatred for English? Yes. However, I bet most of them did what they were supposed to do. I watched them work from afar and helped them come up with concise words and letters when they needed help. Trust issues? Distrustful. Another word for sneaky (afraid that the S would be misinterpreted)? Deceitful or dissembling. If they didn't ask for me I stayed out of their way. They took their papers with them and I will never ask to see their paragraphs again. Tomorrow they will use my glitter, ribbon, buttons, patterned paper, scalloped shapes, vivid card-stock, and other embellishments to create their own letters. Like Hester's their letters with be expected to be artistic and ornate (as much as their ability allows) and wearable. There are some differences too: Hester created her letter in jail, theirs is done in my classroom (albeit some may see a connection between jail and school). I will give them bonus for wearing it during the day. The creation of the letter is important. The wearing of the letter is equally important. People will stare. People will wonder. People will assume. It'll be good for my kiddos to experience this and think about how Hester felt to be punished for life for her passion and how living with your mistakes is not a new concept. Of course I have my letter too. It's taken from the seven deadly sins (which we briefly discussed). I always have them guess my letter and today I laughed out-loud when one of them guessed lust. I have a full-time job, three children and a new puppy; what's lust? The next guess was correct: greed. Just like my offspring, I do have issues with sometimes wanting more than I need when I am already blessed. I will wear my letter too and, depending on the moment, may or may not tell people what it means. Hester accepted her sin and wore it not necessarily with honor but without denial. I hope that my students will learn something about themselves and others through this lesson.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Gratitude

Tonight I was very disappointed in Carson. Oftentimes on Wednesdays we get fast food after we pick the boys up from religion class. Both my boys, like me, are into routines and patterns and don't like for things to change. However, that did not excuse Carson's tantrum in the church parking lot when he found out I was making quesadillas for dinner and that he would not be getting Cane's chicken fingers as he had hoped/expected. If Child Protection Services had heard him they would have immediately arrested me for abuse; his screams were racked with intense pain and dejection. I was declared the Worst Mom Ever. EVER! Seriously? For quesadillas? It's not like it was tuna casserole or spinach; kids are supposed to like quesadillas. They even have them on kids menus. I was so disappointed with Carson's selfishness and drama (in the church parking lot, no less) that I was stunned into silence. This whole "stunned into silence" bit happens very rarely with me. There were so many thoughts running through my head that I didn't know what to express first. In my classroom every day there are students whose only meals are those that they get at school, either because they have families who cannot afford food or they don't have a responsible, independent, adult at home to even buy food for them. Some of my students are 18 and therefore able to be on their own legally speaking. However, I still wish they had someone to mother them the way they should be mothered. If I gave some of them quesadillas they would be grateful. I hope that today was just a bad day for Carson and his ungrateful, spoiled, response doesn't repeat itself. He has a big heart and I want him to realize that him not getting Cane's does not make me a bad mother. I want him to understand that he is lucky to have a mom that feeds him and even makes home-cooked meals for him. I want him to understand that I love him no matter what but that we are a very blessed family and to have food on his plate is a good thing, whether it's Cane's or mommy's quesadillas. I pray that I can guide him to being more grateful and less indulged. I pray that I can help him be more aware of those around him and less self-centered. And if you're going to call me The Worst Mom Ever it better be about something more valid, like homework and cleaning your room, and not about quesadillas.