Schools Out, Schools Out……
Come on, sing along with me, you know you want too!
As many of you know my side job is as a teacher. The last month of school is always a tough month, as any teacher knows. The kids are both ready to get out of school and not ready because it means they won't see many of their friends for the next 2 months.
For some it is even more traumatic than just not seeing their friends. For many it means they won't have regular meals and will have no positive social interactions at all. Many will have no discipline again and they actually crave that discipline (no matter how much they will tell you they couldn't care less, they really do!)
For these children, it is almost like we are abandoning them and they act out badly during these last weeks of school. Any teacher who has been around for any length of time, knows exactly what I am talking about and is very sensitive to these children and their feelings of abandonment.
When I was much (much) younger I worked every summer so these kids had a place to go, to feel like they were still important, where they could feel like they had a purpose to get up in the morning, to have a place where they could get something to eat (we would go through a whole lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a summer).
Now, I am old an tired! I need the summer off just to regenerate enough to go back in August and start it all over again. Now is the time for the younger generation to step up and give these special kids a place to go and reason to get up in the morning. And for goodness sake, a place to get a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
No matter what the gesture is, no matter how small, no matter what it is you decide to do with these kids during the summer, it will not be forgotten! If it is just one peanut butter and jelly sandwich, if it is just one afternoon making beaded necklaces, if it is just sitting around reading them a book... IT DOES MATTER!
It can make the difference between that kid shoplifting at the local quickie mart or them hanging with you and leaning about a whole new world through a story book. It can mean a child eating a wonderfully delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich or nothing at all.
My Challenge to you.
I am putting out a challenge for all you to make a difference in ONE child's life this summer, even if for just one afternoon. Volunteer at a school to read to kids, to do arts and crafts, teach a sport or just offer to be a place for them to hang out and not get into trouble.
If you are a teacher, the sky is the limit what you can do with these kids. Volunteer your time, or maybe you can even get paid for your summer help (it will help buy the bread, peanut butter and jelly). Make a difference in just ONE child's life this summer and it will come back to you tenfold.
You might even find that you like children a little bit more next year when you start up your school year (because usually, the kids that hang with you in the summer are your trouble makers). You may find out the trouble makers really aren't bad kids at all, they just need ONE person who they know really cares about them. That just might be you!
Have a great summer and make a difference in just ONE child's life this summer!
Filed under: Musings, Positive Attitude
