Hope in a hopeless world

Curriculum Night at our elementary school:

Joey's 4th grade teacher is amazing! She asked us if it was okay to give him enrichment math to do in class! (Last year I had to beg and beg the teacher to give him extra math just to do at home.) She told us the whole class was extremely well-behaved, and although it's true they are overall a pretty good group of kids, if they are "extremely well-behaved" it's because she is On Top Of Things. And this is only her second year of teaching. And to quote from the note Joey left for us: "Uh . . . my favorite thing to do here is . . . WRITE!!! My least favorite thing to do here is . . . uh . . . nothing! Mrs. C. is AWESOME!!!" She was funny, too. Part of their upcoming science unit (animal behavior) involves having mealworms in the classroom. She didn't actually shudder when she talked about them, but you could see she was trying hard not to. With the kids, she acts like it's a special privilege to be allowed to take care of them. That way she never has to get too close to them herself.

Our principal was not at the meeting. She had gone down to Houston to help with the relief efforts, bringing with her 8 suitcases full of school supplies donated by our school. While there, she threw her back out (compression fracture!) and is still in the hospital down there.

Our beloved kindergarten teacher from last year is now a full-time reading specialist, working intensively with lower-elementary kids who are below grade level. This is the first time in thirty years that she hasn't had her own classroom and she misses it terribly, but, she said, and I quote, "I feel like I'm feeding the hungry."