Sunday, February 24, 2008

Nobody


During our reading period last Wednesday, I felt that the class was extra loud. One of the teachers who pushes into our room for literacy came into the room. She is a sweet woman, but I think she just got fed up with one of my students and his talking back to everyone. I was in the back of the room working with a student and writing down something. I heard her say something like, "You are a nobody."
He continued to talk back to her, but I could not hear what he said. She replied, "You should be in the first grade!" The boy said back to her, "Well, Ms. Mitarai does not think that I am a nobody." They continued to have a conversation, but I could not hear what they were saying. After she left, we started to get ready to leave for computer. He came up to me and said, "Right, Ms. Mitarai, you don't think I am a nobody..."

We then had a conversation about how you cannot control what other people say to you. We can only control how we react to what people say to us. I told him I did not think he was a nobody. I asked him how it made him feel to have someone call him names. He said, it made him really mad. I told him that is how other people feel when he says mean things to them. We talked about how in life people will call us names, but it is how we react to them that makes the difference or something like that. I then told him that if he cannot say his words to himself in the mirror, he probably should not say them at all.

It did make me happy that he knows how I feel about him and the rest of the class. . . a little light to brighten up my day. I am happy that they know they each have worth. I just wish they realized how much their education meant to them. :)

I have not posted for a while mostly because I have not felt like there was a lot of positive things to write about. But perhaps, I am not looking hard enough or even thinking to write reflections. I think I shared this story with some of you in Utah, so I will try and post something new for you soon. I am grateful for all of your support that you give me.

*I posted a picture of a few of my students when we went ice skating in Central Park in December.

18 comments:

Callie said...

I love this story! And it does not surprise me one bit ... of course you are a fabulous teacher! Seriously, they love you, I just know it! And such a cute photo ...

M said...

Yay for a blog post from Miss Mitarai! I wish I was in your classroom.

Megan Zurcher said...

I couldn't believe my eyes when I clicked on your blog and there was a new post! You are so cute with your little class. I can't believe the stuff you're doing. It's all so grown up.

emm said...

Thanks for checking in on the blog....I know it has been forever. If you could only see me in the class, you would think I have schizophrenia...I am just trying to follow my grown up friends :)

Kelly O. said...

What a neat experience! I love hearing about this stuff. And yes, I have checked your blog at least on a weekly basis since August!

Katie said...

So good to hear from you Em. It's great to see pictures of your kids too. I think that story perfectly illustrates how you are impacting these kids lives.

Love you. So good to see you and miss you!

emm said...

kelly olivia thanks for being such a loyal checker! I will try and update it a little more often. i love to hear about adventures from you!!!

katienana....
i hope you are feeling better. thanks for checking in. it we have the big math test tomorrow so i hope that we will survive. (later that day, the same kid told another kid that he could not write. the kid left crying. sad. we will keep on working...:)

Amanda said...

One of the many things I admire about you: Your capacity to love (sometimes tough love is necessary, right?).

Have you ever heard of Marva Collins? She wrote a book called "The Marva Collins Way." You might consider checking it out. I hear it's top-notch.

rachel said...

Em- What a cute picture! and what an amazing teacher you are! I'm sure you make a difference in each of their lives. Love you! Let's talk soon! ~Rach

Adair said...

I second all of the comments already made. Emily...you are an amazing girl and obviously an amazing teacher who is impacting these students lives for good. They need more teachers like you so that they know they are worth something. It was so fun to see last month. Thank you for the beautiful scarf. I have put it to good use. And thanks again for the post. It was inspiring and made me smile because I get to be your friend.

Martha said...

How exciting to see another post from you! That was a great story. You should write more! That story says so much about you and the influence you're having on the kids there. You're amazing.

Bekah said...

Happy day! A post from Emily! Keep them coming.

I am so envious about what you're doing. I can't even imagine how hard it must me, but I know you are having an amazing impact. Love and miss you!

Devin said...

Em,

I'm glad to hear you are doing good in the world. I think its great that you have the courage to teach for America. Keep up the great work. Your story shows that your efforts matter, even if the great moments are few and far between.

Check out my blog sometime.
www.devinandnaomi.blogspot.com

Monica said...

Emily! I found your blog through David Grover's blog...
Hope you're doing okay!

theminerfamily said...

MIT! I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I haven't checked your blog in a REALLY long time, but was on Jen's and thought I would pop over. That is truly an incredible honor to you. I read it to Dave (he says hello) and we were both astounded. You truly have always had an amazing way of helping people feel special! Those are some lucky kids! Hey, we are only 8+ hours away, if we ever make it to NY we will have to connect! Love ya!
Heidi Kay

Darren said...

Lizzie says hi! Thanks for letting her dance!

rachel said...

Em, I love the new pic! Is that you, you gorgeous model?! I miss you!

M said...

Gorgeous new banner/header/picture of you!