End of School

Well, my time at Stratford HS is coming to a close. I have learned a lot from the students, and about the inner-city culture in general. I've expanded my vocabulary to include words like "triflin' " and " straight trippin' " and I've learned about new rappers like Lil' Wayne and Lil' Boosie. I asked my students recently to write me reflection papers about what they learned in this class. To my surprise, many actually wrote positive things like I taught them about stress management and hard work. One student said she had not learned anything from her parents about money and she spent every paycheck she got as soon as she got it. She said that after learning in my class about budgeting and saving, she's going to work harder to manage her money well. On each of these reflection papers, I wrote them back paragraphs about if they worked hard and kept a positive attitutde, they could acheive their dreams. Many have been discouraged by their peers and their backgrounds, and in many cases a lack of parental support. These students need consistency in their lives, and because I haven't left them (like many of their other teachers), they became attached to me. The other day, I was coming to class late from my other classroom and the other teacher told me that many of the kids were asking where I was, looking concerned. She said that when she is absent her kids rejoice, but my kids were worried- they thought something must be wrong. I guess my influence in their lives was more than I originally thought.

It's been fun, and truthfully, I'm ready to leave, but I'll never forget the students in my classes and the other teachers who have helped me along the way. I think this experience and cultural immersion will help me greatly as a dental provider and will help me to be more responsive to the problems in education and with inner-city youth in the future. I'll definitely identify better with my children's teachers and hopefully be a better parent because of my experience here. I'm excited to start the next chapter in my life: Dental School.