My friends and I used to joke about how our elders would make statements that begin with "back in my day". We would joke about it, adding our own outrageous parts to the statements. For instance, "Back in my day, we had to walk to and from school...and it was uphill both ways. Also, we didn't have shoes, so we had to walk to school barefoot...and the road was covered with shards of broken glass...". It went on and on, and it was a running joke we had that always provided a good laugh.
It's absolutely true that our parents (and their parents) had it much rougher than we did when we were young. Many of them grew up on farms and put in hours of work before (and after) school. Others lived through the rough times of the Depression. When compared to that of my parents and their parents, my younger years were a piece of cake. Of course there were stresses that had to be dealt with, but it could have been a lot worse.
As a teacher, I am forced to notice just how lucky I was when I was growing up. This past week was a perfect reminder.
In just this last week I have found out that one student is being picked up after school by a parent, who is then trying to find a place for the student (and a brother) to stay for the night. Each night, it's someplace different.
A second student just found out their mother has cancer.
A third student is the oldest child in the family. The kids took their mother to the hospital because she had been acting weird. Turns out she had a stroke and a huge brain tumor. The mother has lost most of her memory and functional capabilities. My student is the oldest and there is no other family in the area, which now makes this student the primary caretaker of the other children.
These cases were all in the last week, and I'm sure there are more that were not brought to my attention. The original title of this post was going to be "things kids should never have to deal with". I backed off of that when I thought about the adversity many of our parents (and grandparents) had to overcome, and what great people they turned out to be.
Of course I wish these students were not living under these terrible circumstances. However, if these students show the same strength under adversity that our parents and grandparents displayed, I can picture them one day beginning their statements to their grandkids with "back in my day".
6 comments:
In ONE WEEK.
This whole thing made me so sad, M.A...what a world. Yes, those things have been happening for years and I guess they make us stronger, but I'm thinking how less than strong our newer generations are, how soft and indoctrinated and messed up they are from our TV immoral/sex/drugs culture.
I hope these kids have what our grandparents and parents had.....they're going to need it. America needs it.
Wow. It is a shame those kids have to deal with those situations.
It's heartbreaking!
That's a powerful post, my friend.
Thanks for reading and commenting. I am sure that the three students experiencing this will come out stronger individuals.
I agree Z that our newer generations are "softer". I blame the "boys should not be masculine" thinkers. We can teach girls to be strong without teaching boys to be weak.
The joy of home schooling is that you can teach your sons to be boys...and enjoy them!
And your daughters can be ladies of strength and character. And enjoy them too!
My 2 had to deal with losing their Dad to cancer almost 6 yrs. ago, they watched him die and saw his body. They are more mature(in most ways, but not all)more compassionate, understanding and appreciative...
They do have what it takes, anyone can, IF they are raised with the right standards.
tmw
G*D bless and keep those 3, and their families...
As someone who literally walked almost a mile through the snow to elementary and junior high school, I am usually appalled at how spoiled rotten my students are. I also have some hard-luck cases, but overall, my students aren't hurting.
The parents chauffeur their little darlings to the front steps of the school as the students step out, decked out in the latest fashions with a $200 iPod plugged into their ears.
During parent meetings, I am often amused at all the goodies (Air Jordans, iPod, X-Box, MySpace) that the parent threatens to take away from the student unless he raises his grades or improves his behavior. Too many times, the threats are empty.
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