Mic Check

I have decided to start my blog and be used to posting before my journey starts. I have time to do this now because of the snow and ice that covers the Ohio landscape. School closed @ 6:20 this morning and I am glad.

Although I know that I am fighting the good fight and trying to bring a bit of education and well reasoned citizenship it is a constant uphill battle for me at Robinson. How are my students supposed to care about history and government when they have little of the basic amenities that average American students are blessed with? The answer is, that often that they do not. I see so many beautiful minds in my classes every day and they seem to be more bent on distracting and discouraging me then accomplishing the goals that I pose for them. I know that I sound a bit cynical at present but, I do not know if I am meant for the middle school mind.

On a positive note I truly feel that they have finally accepted me as their teacher, something that I had been struggling with for 2 months is done. I no longer feel that I am being chased away and the taunts that I receive are different then they once were. Sometimes they are good natured friendly jabs and sometimes attacks on the system that I as an educator and authority figure represent.

I can live with and will encourage the rebellion but I merely want it to be more subtle, better planned, and done with finesse. As a white man in a school that is dominated but minority students I know that I am from a place that is mysterious and hated because of my gender and complexion, regardless of the paths that I have walked and the similarities that I may share with my students. I hope only the best for them, and that they will find the balance and structure that they crave.