Today was a great day. The students have given me a nickname, Slenderman, and it seems to brighten their day to see another familiar face. The kids in my class were so inviting, eager to ask for my help with problems and class work. Later, some students became physically violent, visibly making another student uncomfortable, however, what I witnessed as a result was seeing another student there to be there for him and talk it through with him giving him options on how to solve the problem and options on how to approach the person who punched them and invite them back into the classroom and forgive the person. When reflecting on these last couple of day’s it has shown me how much grace has been extended to me and how loved I truly am. Knowing that Regis is a school whose teachers hold you accountable for being a role model for others, that I have the best parents who have given me every opportunity to succeed in life, and being the person who can give grace and have patience with the kids and to extend forgiveness and not let little thing trigger me. Today was a great day. 

Today escalated quickly. We went about the morning like usual and the class started off chill with the kids laughing and doing their work. Then right before lunch it all blew up and became hectic. Parts of the class ended up getting split up into different rooms because they couldn’t even see each other anymore. The time right before lunch really challenged me because it showed me how quickly the mood of the room could change and how tight the tension could stay for the rest of the day. These past two days have really shown me how different a person’s life may be even if they are next to me. They live only 30 minutes from Regis and yet the standards they live in, and act are so drastically different for us. It helped me think about my life and how I shouldn’t take my family or the things I have for granted ever.

Today was a lot better than yesterday. I don’t know if it was because there were less fights or that I knew what to expect today. My class is only 4 kids, but they end up all over the place really only leaving me with one or two the entire day. My day usually is just protecting kids from fighting and trying to get the others on task. Today I realized how much the kids actually look up to me. This new student loves to fight and I am constantly trying to separate him from others. He watched me protect and check in with a student that he went after and checked in with the student as well, he made him feel welcome and even asked if he wanted to draw with him. This was a huge improvement from yesterday as it made me realize the humanity in the kids and how they do have an understanding in how their actions could possibly affect others. Over these past couple days, reflection has allowed me to see how much patience and grace there is from the teachers and staff. It amazes me how they are able to turn a blind eye to such disrespect and even violence towards them and still want to express love and teach them.