My Regular Job

Guess what? I love my job. I really do. I've been putting in ridiculous hours this week (Wait! It's only TUESDAY?!), and it's sometimes hard and annoying to deal with stuff that goes with school and kids and international governments taking their sweet time issuing visas for our pupils. But tonight I am nearly in tears because today was one of those days that felt rewarding. I make a difference. Wow.

Here's a presentation I gave to my colleagues this morning if you're interested in learning more about what I do.

Welcoming Overseas Pupils on Prezi

Hoppy Easter

Last weekend I had an Easter party for my international students, complete with a bunny cake like my mom used to make.

What do you think, Mumers?

Devilled eggs... They don't really eat these in England, and my Chinese students wouldn't touch them. I saw a trick on Pinterest where you could "boil" many eggs at once by baking them in a muffin tin at 350 F for 30 minutes. I boiled half of them the traditional way and did the new method with the other half. It didn't really work. I'll stick with regular boiling next time.

I made this extra cake because I was worried that there wouldn't be enough. I had nothing to worry about. The Chinese kids just picked off the Skittles and sour straws (a.k.a. strawberry laces) and didn't eat the cake. I think next time I'll just set out bowls of candy.

Here's my beautiful set up, complete with hot cross buns, an English Easter tradition.

Yum! I wish you were there to enjoy the Easter party with me, because I had tons of food leftover. We had an Easter egg hunt outside afterwards, and we had great weather. In fact, we've had fantastic weather for about a week! Praise the Lord!

Missing everyone...

The Best Apology Note from a Student - Ever

Dear Mrs. Parker,


I am sure you know what this letter is about. However, I would like to apologise for my part in the disappointing behaviour at *fill-in-the-place*. This should have been a pleasant evening, sharing a meal and good company. Instead we have let ourselves and the house down with our inappropriate actions.


Having had time to think about this, I appreciate the effort and gestures which went into planning such a treat and am aware of the consequences and implications for which we are responsible. I know we must have spoilt your night and wasted your free time, so again, I am very sorry.


Best wishes,
*a lovely, articulate 13 year-old English girl, author of the best apology note I have ever received in my teaching career* 

Snow Fungus Drink?!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! 

This is the first year I've ever celebrated it, and my students helped me do it up right. I took three of them shopping yesterday, and we went to the Asian market to get the goods. Then, they all came over today to cook hot pot, fried rice, and sweet red beans for dessert. I must say that I tried a lot of new foods today.

After we had our fill of Asian food (and after the non-Asian international students filled up on bananas and apples), we walked to town to see the traditional Chinese New Year lion dance. It was cool to see, but I still don't get why it spits lettuce at people.

Enjoy the pictures of the crazy foods. :)

Kids are Funny

One of the most wonderful aspects of my job is the time I get to have with my kids one-on-one (the Brits say "one-to-one") and in small groups. It makes the process of getting to know them so much faster. I gave my Saturday students a "Getting to Know You" form last week, and interestingly enough, the following question elicited the most laughs from me. Here it is, followed by some of their answers.


If I found £10, I would spend it on…


- buying some chocolate


- noodles


- in the church


- top up


- keep for future


- buying beautiful things


- Who cares, it’s only 10 quid!


- Give it to teacher, cause that not mine.


Another funny story: 


A student told me that when he was younger he did judo, but he didn't like it very much because it was only about defensive moves. However, his mother didn't want him doing anything too dangerous. Now he's into a hobby called "parcour," also known as free running. That could be the European name for it, but I had no idea what he was talking about. He showed me what he meant with a YouTube clip.





I'm pretty sure that it's more dangerous than American football, rugby, and ultimate fighting put together. His skill in this was confirmed by the headmaster, who had several of the international students over for Sunday lunch. The head asked the student to get some apples out of their tree, and the kid was up there "faster than a rat up a drain pipe." 


Dang, I love funny kids.

Also, check out this video of my school that just came out today. I'm so proud!

The First Week O' School

Have I really been MIA for three days? Thanks for stopping by again despite my lack of posting this week. As expected, I have been just zonked from the first week of school. 

Monday, as you'll recall, I didn't get home until very late because there was a dinner at school for the staff and their significant others after a full day of inservice. Tuesday we went to dinner at some friends' house (I had amazing guacamole, thanks to our American friend, Emily). Wednesday I had house duties at the girls' boarding house until 10:30. 

Tonight I left school at 5 p.m. and felt like I was playing hooky. The school day officially ends at 5 p.m., which is much later than I'm used to. However, the kids have an hour for lunch and two more 20 minute breaks during the day. Still, it makes for a long day.

On Tuesday I discovered a few changes in my schedule. I'll be working every Wednesday from 5-10:30 p.m. being the tutor on duty in the girls' boarding house. And, I'll be organizing and implementing Saturday school for the internationals, where they'll get intensive English help and go on some cultural field trips. This means that I'll be taking Fridays and Sundays off. We won't start until next Saturday at the latest, so I'll still be working tomorrow.

I'm a little bummed that I won't get two days in a row off this school year, but I think I'll be more motivated to do housekeeping things on Fridays and take a Sabbath and truly rest on Sundays.

And, for my mom, here is a picture of me on the first day of school, looking a little lopsided I'm afraid. We  had a late start and I didn't have to be there until 9:15, in case you were looking at the clock. :)

And, this week we said goodbye to Harriet. We sold her for scrap the other day and are truly carless. We tried to buy two different cars in the last week or so, but both deals fell through. The first one we agreed over the phone to purchase (after we looked at it) and the sellers said they'd deliver the car the next day. We never heard from them again, and all attempts to make contact have been fruitless. The second one we were keen to buy, but the seller sold it to someone else before we could get it. Grrr...

Does anyone have a car to sell us?

First Day of School

Source

It's nearly 9 p.m., and I just got home from my first day of school. All I wanted was a cup of tea, which Nathan obligingly made for me.


Like the lady pictured above, my eyes are bugging out from sensory overload. Although we've been in England for over a year now, I feel like I just landed in another country all over again. School here is so, so different. All of the terms, acronyms, jargon... it's like a foreign language. And the way meetings are run, hand outs are written, colleagues interact, everything. It's all different! I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I found myself incredibly confused more often than not. This school experience is going to be a major adjustment. 


On the whole though, I am encouraged today. I met some fantastic people who I'll be working with. I found out that I can eat all of my meals there for free - breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I wanted. I have another day of inservice (aka "inset") tomorrow, when I'll learn all about being an advisor (aka "tutor") in a girls' house (a la Hogwarts). New kids come tomorrow as well, and then everyone will be back on Wednesday for classes (aka "lessons"). I feel supremely grateful for this job, and I know that it will be a great year.


Thanks for checking in...

I Think I Did Something Cool

I added a new blog feature. Woop woop!


It's called "Link Within," and all it does is suggest more posts it thinks you might like based on the labels of the post you just read. I feel fancy today.


In case you were wondering about my new job, I think I will have more to tell you after the inservice on Monday. I wasn't able to do much yesterday because the room I'm supposed to be in is full of someone else's stuff, and the people I need to talk to were not available to help. I spent three hours there trying to get something done, but after pushing every metaphorical door I could to no avail, I gave up and went home.


Sigh...


Stuff like that really makes me miss a few things:

My mom's milkshakes

Chick-Fil-A

Whitefield

America

After my frustrating morning, I wanted all of the above. Bad. But here's to a day off one day after I start a new job! I suppose I'll be taking my Labor Day on a Friday. 


Happy (U.S.) holiday weekend everyone. I will hopefully have more interesting news about school related things when everyone comes back to kick off the new year on Monday.

Y'all Are Quick

I heard back from the headmaster at my new school this morning. I will start next Thursday, September 1st, and he is sending me a job description in the mail for my comments and modifications. Praise God!

Back to school!

The Celebration Continues

Yay! The Graduate Wife featured my story in its new series on celebrations. 

I love that blog. And I love those girls for starting it. If you're a wife of a graduate student - and even if you're a graduate student yourself - it's a must-read.

I GOT A JOB!!!

 

This is Mrs. Parker, the newly appointed teacher of English as an Additional Language at the Durham School, comin' at ya this fine, fine English drizzly morning. Your prayers have been answered in such a way that I can honestly say that God orchestrated this from the beginning. He is so good to me! It has been, I feel, such a long road to this post, and I am so glad to share the journey with you. My seemingly life theme of "feast or famine" has been apparent once again. As of this morning, I had three job offers on the table: one from the small business and two from schools! Praise God!

When we moved to England, I was ready for a break from teaching. In fact, I didn't think I would be able to apply for teaching jobs at all, seeing as how it takes so long to jump through all of the appropriate hoops. It turns out that I really needed these last nine months to get every last annoying, bureaucratic paper, stamp, and signature to work at this school. And after a whole school year of wringing my hands and lamenting the ills of supply teaching, I am ready to be in a place I can call my own.

This role includes me working alongside about 25 international boarding students, mostly from China and Hong Kong, in a support role. When I earned my teaching credential in the state of California, I had three magic letters in the title next to Secondary English: ELD. My extra English Language Development hours meant that I was qualified to apply for this position working with international students who are learning English. I will have my own small classroom, but I will not be teaching English in a traditional way. I may be helping them prepare for standardized tests in my room. I may be with them in another classroom setting. I may be working with them one-on-one or in small groups. I will know each one of my kids really, really well, and I love that.

There are so many attractive aspects to this position: 1) I won't have to plan for six or seven preps like I would in any traditional English classroom setting in England, 2) I can walk to this school from where we live, 3) The school encourages teachers to interact with their students on a personal level (e.g. have them over for dinner, hang out with them in the boarding house, etc.), 4) I would be in charge of a half-day Saturday program for the students to see the sights in Britain and go on field trips, which I would want to do on my own time anyway, and 5) They are offering to pay me a little more than I earned in my previous teaching job in America!

The headmaster called me about two hours ago with the offer, and I told him I wanted to talk with Nathan but would call him right back. I flew out of our bedroom and burst into tears, "They offered me the job! I can't believe it! I just can't believe it!" He hugged me, told me he was proud of me, and told me to get my booty back on the phone to accept the job. Even after I called back to confirm my acceptance and we exchanged logistics about the contract, I was still crying and saying, "I can't believe it!" over and over again.

You see, aside from the amazing but imposing fact that the Durham School has a very long (almost 600 years long) and distinguished track record, I was quite intimidated by the other three candidates. One had taught in Durham for 16 years at a very posh private school in town but had gone down to Oxford to teach and wanted to return. Another was a man who had already been at the Durham School for 15 years and wanted to shift his position within the school. Another was a teacher at a very fine school in Newcastle. They were all sharply dressed, whereas I (who thought I was properly dressed for an interview) was given the comment, "Well, don't you look trendy!" when I met the woman in charge of boarders. Gulp... I don't have a suit! Sorry!

The three other candidates and I lobbied for the job yesterday morning with a formal interview, a presentation on the issues facing international boarding students in the UK, an observed lesson with two Chinese boys, and a tour of the school. 

I started out with the interview. The assistant head and the head of boarding were really kind, but I felt a little rusty. It wasn't a big deal, but it was just guinea pig jitters I guess. I don't really like going first. I think my Whitefield experience was most helpful for that part of the interview, because I drew a lot from my years there to answer a lot of the questions they asked. Thanks, Whitefield!

I thought the strongest part of my day was my presentation on issues facing international boarders with the headmaster and the head of marketing. It had a natural flow to it, and I felt comfortable in his office. A friend from church, who had been a boarder in the UK from Hong Kong himself, really gave me some really useful insights for this presentation. I didn't have a clue about what to say before his help. Thanks, Enoch!

For the lesson, another friend from church who is getting her Master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) here at Durham University dropped everything on Monday to meet me, calm my fears, give me some useful textbooks, e-mail me some sample lesson plans, and tell me all the trendy educational buzzwords to use. Thanks, Robin! 

For my tour, I was guided around by the sweetest kid from Hong Kong named Teddy. I thought it was a good reminder from the Lord about how much I loved Teddy Heck. Thanks, Jeff and Hannah!

I'd also like to thank Dave and Sian, the husband and wife team (he'll start a new job at an Oxford boarding school in the fall, and she's employed at Durham High School for Girls) who helped me re-work my CV and covering letter for the English audience. There's absolutely no way I would even have been considered for this role without their help.

Nathan, obviously, deserves a lot of credit for being such an amazing husband through this process. Of all the innumerable ways he encouraged me and kept me going, the most wonderful one is that he continuously "preached the Gospel" to me, meaning he just repeated that God loves us and will take care of us no matter what. I didn't always appreciate it, but he always spoke the truth. And now we will be able to put this mini-chapter of job hunting in England in our book of Examples of God's Faithfulness to Nathan and Nicole Parker.

And, of course, how could I not thank you, yes YOU, my dearest friends and family! Your prayers; your words of encouragement; your kind thoughts, calls, songs, jokes, and Skype dates; your reaching out to me in this time of waiting has had such an impact on me. Because of you, I will be a more compassionate wait-er-alongside-er, if that makes sense. I love you!

God is SO GOOD! It doesn't matter if I am in my pajamas all day and cry because I feel useless or if I am offered a job at an amazing, historic, prestigious school. He is good all the time, and I am loved all the time! The pain of waiting is used for His glory and my good. Take heart!

 

Here I am on our daylight savings walk back in the fall, completely oblivious to the fact that I would be offered a job there just this morning! Such a cool God thing...

Here is the school's official website, and here is the wikipedia site. You can read all about notable alumni, including the man who founded Sierra Leone, the original "Alfred" in the first four Batman movies, and the man who inspired Wilburforce to abolish slavery in England.

Still crying with gratitude,

Nicole

P.S. You can still leave comments, even if it says "0 comments." I turned them off to the public in case you still wanted to try your hand at the loyal readers quiz and qualify to win a prize from London. If you can't figure out how to leave a comment, you can e-mail me. :)

Interview Update

Thanks for your prayers and well wishes, everyone! These recent developments have been such a huge boost to my spirit, and I've been in such a smiley mood lately. Woohoo!


In short, my morning at the school went really well. The kids were very, very well behaved (pristine uniforms, standing when an adult enters the room, lining up and moving to their next classes quietly, etc.), which is such a change from my other experiences in secondary schools in Northeast England, and the building itself was really cool. It used to be a mental hospital in the early 1900s. Fascinating...


I feel like it was a positive experience from beginning to end, and the principal said he would call me with their decision before my next interview, which is next Tuesday, the 17th. 


So that's your update. Thanks for hanging in there with me so far. I'll keep you posted!

This is pretty much how I feel right now!

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Great News on the Job Front

It's been an eventful day in the Parker household! First of all, I was stirred from sleep this morning by a phone call from a company with whom I interviewed yesterday, and they offered me a job!


YYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!


This opportunity came up unexpectedly through a friend from church. I will not post too many details here until future events fall one way or another (you'll see in a minute), but you can know that this job is not in the educational arena. It would be a business job doing researching, writing, and editing. The pros would be that I could work with a friend from church, I could start May 23rd, I'd get four weeks vacation (I love England!) and I wouldn't have to do supply teaching anymore. The cons are that it doesn't pay what I was hoping to earn. I'd basically be earning a little more than half what I made in America, and seeing as how living expenses are almost twice in England what they are in America, that ain't a whole lot. They were gracious and allowed me to think about it and check out my other job options for two weeks.


This afternoon I went to an "informal chat" to discuss a teaching role at a Christian school, which went really well. At the end, I was honest and said that I had been offered a job that morning and would be interviewing at another school next week. The result? They called me an hour after our chat and asked me to come in and teach a lesson to some kids and have a formal interview at the school TOMORROW. Exact words from the principal? "I would be keen to move quickly to the next stage, especially with your other options in mind." Yes! 


Lastly, but certainly not least-ly, my in-laws arrived this afternoon! We are so pumped to have them here to check out our lives in Durham. They have prayed so earnestly for us, so it was awesome to share some positive job news with them in person. 


I'm off to get my beauty sleep before delivering a killer last-minute lesson to a top set of Year 8s (translation: the smarty pants [translation: trousers] 7th graders) in the morning. Prayers would be appreciated, and of course, an update will be posted as soon as I can. 

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I'm using this picture for my lesson tomorrow. My Whitefield kids should know what this is all about. :) 

The Week in Bullet Points

- It's much later than I wanted it to be when I started writing this post, so you're getting a little short changed as far as my usual charm and witticisms go. Sorry. There seems, however, to be a direct correlation between my tiredness and an increase in sarcasm. Sorry, again.


- On Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday this week I have been/will be subbing at a middle school quite far away. I've been averaging three hours in the car traveling there and back. The good news? I drove myself! The bad news? I hated every second of it. I hate driving. I hated it in general in America, and now much more in England through city traffic, in narrow tunnels under rivers, around construction in major roundabouts, etc. 


- Subbing itself has not been terrible there, although if I could just get rid of a few super disruptive kids ("get rid of" as in "remove them from the classroom" not "kill"), my remaining hours there would be a lot easier. Oh, and if the teacher could leave me some seating charts, that would be great, too. The kids have taken to making up names for themselves, so I've taken to calling them by their fake names using quotation marks with my hands, like "Bob," "Diego," and the more cultured and creative "Requiem In Pace" (who I'm calling R.I.P. for short, of course). Ah, 7th graders.


- Today I subbed a half day at another school only half an hour away, but I was only needed for about 40 minutes total. Four out of five classes they had me slated for were a mix-up. I kept showing up to classrooms where the teacher was there not expecting a sub. I'm not complaining, but I kind of wish they would have let me go at 9:25 when I was actually finished instead of 12:25. I mean, teacher's lounges are interesting and everything, but one can only pretend to read while actually listening to staff room gossip for so long...


- Tomorrow after my three hour round-trip commute, I am collecting Nathan and we are heading down to Cambridge for the weekend. Nathan is reading a paper at a conference on Saturday, and then we are spending Sunday and Monday exploring... just the two of us! I am really excited about the opportunity to see him in action in an academic setting, and I am eager to explore a new place, especially one so historic and beautiful. 


- I had aspirations of writing about how proud I am of him and how far he's come and how he's gone from a drug dealing high school dropout to a guest speaker at a conference at Cambridge University, but that will just have to wait until we come back. It's muy tarde and neccesito dormir. Happy Cinco de Mayo! Adios, amigos!

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Job Hunt Update

Thanks so much for praying for my job search lately. I was feeling a little bummed because my latest "dream job" (there have been a few these past eight months) had interviews slated for this week and I hadn't heard anything... 


UNTIL TODAY!


The headmaster's personal assistant called and left a message asking me to come for an interview on May 17th!!!


I also got a call to have in "informal chat" with a principal at another school further away. That will take place May 11!!!


Feast or famine.


I would be thrilled to work at either one of these schools. They are so different from one another, but I can see myself fitting in at both. Here are more details in case you want to pray through them with us:


School #1 - Very,very close in location (I could walk there now), very old (like, founded in 1414 old) and reputable, small case load, I'd be teaching English as an additional language to international boarding students


School #2 - Openly Christian school, several people from church work there, great discipling opportunities with kids, I'd be teaching English and probably whatever else they need me to teach since it's small


Cons for both schools would be that I would be required to be involved with lots of extra curricular activities, which means really long hours and sometimes nights/weekend/trips, but hey... that's every school where teachers aren't unionized. :)


Thanks for your prayers! Hopefully I'll post again on this topic in a few weeks after someone has said the magic words...

Still Waiting, Still Trusting

So after Friday's fiasco, I was a little more than a little anxious to go back into an school on this entire island. However, I accepted a week's worth of work at another school for a teacher on jury duty starting today. 


Unfortunately, she'd already been out for a week, so none of the classes were in top form behaviorally, nor did they have any lesson plans. Thankfully, a teacher from the English department came in at the beginning of every class period to brainstorm what work to give them for the hour. It was last minute... but it was better than me tap dancing or singing The Star Spangled Banner.


It was a mixed experience, but on the whole more positive than negative. The worst was a class full of 7th graders that seemed to be hopped up on about a dozen Red Bulls each. A few could just not sit still and kept screaming really random things like:


"LINDSAY LOHAN!!!"


"HITLER!!!"


"CHICKEN!!!"


"I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE...!!!"


No, I am not making that up.


After asking for the teacher's schedule, I took home a textbook for each of her seven preps and came home to do some planning for the rest of the week. It was exhausting, as usual, but I told Nathan on the ride home that I could do it again tomorrow. 


And then I got a phone call telling me that the teacher I was covering for had been released from jury duty and that I was no longer needed for the rest of the week.


Sigh.


The Lord knows what we need! We continue to trust Him for work. I've applied for countless jobs but have not had positive feedback from any (if any at all). Please continue to pray that I'll trust God and not worry, that I'll keep persevering through the application process and not give up, and that I'll use my time wisely during this time of waiting. 


Since I will most likely be home tomorrow, I promise to fill you in on Ben and Blaire's visit and give you some nice pictures of the English countryside. 


Until then...

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"F" is for Total Depravity

I had the worst day of school ever today. I wouldn't want to say that it was the worst day of my life, but it is right on up there with the worst day of my school life. 


I did supply teaching at a school that shall remain nameless (I was really tempted to hyperlink "a school that shall remain nameless," but I'm showing what little restraint I have left), and I thought it was going to be an okay day. The school looked brand new, and it was really clean.


Period 1 went well. It was crowded, and they were chatty, but no major issues.


Period 2 - I think I was traumatized. Really. I am still reeling. 


Students not staying seated. Students eating, drinking, chewing gum, listening to iPods, texting, playing games, taking pictures, playing music on their iPhones. Students screaming for no reason. Students gambling. Students pretending to be high. Students pretending to perform acts that only married people should be doing. Students openly using awful language. Students openly mocking me. Students defying my instructions. Students stealing other students' belongings and throwing them on top of the cabinets. Students climbing on chairs, desks, and cabinets. Students jumping off of cabinets. Students throwing book bags, pencils, paper Chinese stars full of staples, and other such home made hazardous objects. Students verbally abusing other students. Students threatening other students. Students physically assaulting other students. Students accusing me of serious atrocities. 


And they were all in 7th grade. 


I was quite stunned by all of this but drew the line after about 40 minutes when one student got in the face of another and threatened him. I took him firmly by the arm and escorted him outside to find another teacher. He was screaming that I was hurting him and abusing him. 


When the teacher came into the classroom to try to settle the class down, the student went ahead and followed through on his original threat to harm the other student and punched him in the face, and yet more students jumped in on both sides of the fight. I asked the teacher what I could do to help, and he told me to get yet another teacher. All told, there were four teachers, including me, that had to be brought in to contain the class. 


During the aftermath, the "victim" of my "abuse" brought up some very, very serious allegations against me that are not suitable for discussion on this blog (which weren't taken seriously, thank goodness).


All this before 10 a.m.


I had two more classes which were just as awful as most of the other schools I've been to but seemed angelic compared to Period 2. At lunch I met Nathan in the parking lot so we could share a meal together, and I just sat in the car and stayed very still. I didn't say much. I ate half of a PB&J and just stared into space. I couldn't talk about my morning, because I knew if I did, I would most certainly lose my composure and wouldn't go back in for the afternoon. I needed to stay focused. 


Two more classes in the afternoon were dreadful, but no one was punched in the face and no one cussed me out, so I'll go ahead and put a "W" in the afternoon column.


I felt like I had been through battle - or had at least watched Casino back to back to back for 7 hours. I had a headache. My jaw was tight. My muscles hurt. Images and sounds from the day kept flashing through my mind. 


Needless to say, Nathan and I both cried some tears on the way home. 


Ahem... *tap tap tap* Is this thing on?


*Allow me to get on my soapbox for a second and talk about discipline in schools.


There are so many factors that contribute to a "good" school in terms of behavior: the socioeconomic background of the school population, parental backing of educational ideals, administrative support of teachers, teacher buy in to school discipline policy, whether or not students wear uniforms, cleanliness of the grounds, structure of the family, rate of presence of drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, etc. 


However, if I could sum up England's problem with school discipline, it's this: children have all the power.


Teachers are not allowed to touch students at all. Teachers are not allowed to isolate troublemakers. Schools actually get fiscally penalized if they suspend or expel too many students. There are no "second chance" schools to expel kids to. Some schools actually have a "no negativity" policy, whereby teachers cannot use words like "don't," "stop," etc. I guess today's incident (when Student A hit Student B) should have warranted a, "I'm so pleased with how Student X is not punching Student Y in the face." That would probably have done the trick. Not.


So when a student is walking across the classroom on top of desks instead of carpet, and the teacher says "Please get down off of the desks," and the student says, "NO! I WON'T!," all the teacher can do is repeat himself, plead with the child, etc. He can't actually DO anything about it, and they all know it. I saw this happen today.


Adults should not have to put up with abuse by a child. I am completely for protecting children, and that includes disciplining them to protect them from mismanaging themselves. Children's rights in this country go a bit too far, in my opinion. They're children, for crying out loud, and they need guidance, not autonomy. Discipline is LOVE and DIGNITY. 


I found a really interesting article, although it's a bit out of date, that explained some proposed changes in the English education system. I have no idea whether or not these proposals were actually implemented, but they sounded darn good to me.


And this was a statement left in the comments section: "As long as the word of an habitual troublemaker or congenital liar is deemed by the proponents of children’s rights to be as reliable as that of an experienced and well-respected teacher then discipline will never be established in schools." 

None of the students actually learned anything today. Most didn't even bother to write their names on their coloring worksheets. 

But I learned a whole lot. 

*Climbing down off of soapbox.

While all of this was happening, Nathan was wrestling with some of Flavel's ideas about total depravity. As I was estimating how many times I hear the f-word today, he said, "It's interesting. All day I was reading about the wickedness of the human heart while you were seeing it fleshed out." 

So true. In these students as well as in my own heart. 

I have so much more to say on the subject. And I don't mean just retelling horror stories. I mean deep discussions about the hopelessness I feel when I think about school and the presence of spiritual darkness in this country and the need for Christ and dependence on the Gospel at every moment. 

But I'm all out of heart for it at the moment.

Any thoughts you have would be warmly welcomed.