On Wednesday, one of the students told me she went to church, which surprised me. I asked her why, and she said, "I don't know how to say it in English." "Tell me in Spanish." And then she said something, but I don't remember saying something like "las Mañanitas". But then remembered that it was the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I asked her, "Are you Catholic?" She didn't understand it the first time, but after I repeated Catholic the second time, she nodded her head. Later that day she said, "It was Mary's birthday," but after I said it wasn't, I think she realized that the feast day commemorates something else.
Thursday, I was saying I would send her to the moon with one of the boys, and she said, "No. I want to go with God." That answer surprised me too. I hope she stays innocent and pious.
Leave it to the parents who donated food items for the class to provide more than enough. I didn't need to get any food on Thursday night at all. Oh well, maybe I will be cured of my craving for Doritos this time around. I didn't request that parents buy healthy items--parents bought capri-sun, hi-c drinks, even soda (7-up and strawberry Fanta)... plus lots of cookies and chips.
I did give away the pencils and holy cards that I got... why are pencils so popular? After all, they get used up... maybe their "cool colors" had something to do with it. More than one student said out loud, "I want pencils." I was taken aback by their greed, and had to remind them that this was not proper, to demand things that are being given freely as gifts. I don't think this is a lesson they can learn in just one minute... heh
It reminds me of that stupid segment on one of the entertainment news programs (Extra or Access Hollywood?) -- "Gimme gimme."
The girls liked the Our Lady of Guadalupe prayer cards... I was planning on giving the "icon" of Christ card w/cross to just one girl, the pious one, but then one of the other girls asked for it. I was going to mull it over a while, but then she offered the Sanrio/Hello Kitto ruler I had given to her in exchange, and she proclaimed, "I like holy things." How can you refuse someone after a statement like that?
This girl... I suspect she has some issues at home. She started holding my hand after recess ended and we were walking back to the class. In another time, that wouldn't be a problem, but now... who wants to be suspected of something nefarious when it should be rather innocent? So I had to separate from her, which was somewhat necessary anyway because I had to yell at the stragglers and talkers in the line. She's been wearing the same pair of pants, with the hole in the left knee area, for the past couple of days... doesn't anyone in her house know how to mend a pair of pants?
The Christmas party started after lunch, and some of the students became hyper either because of a sugar high, or because they thought anything goes since we were having a party. I didn't get a chance to finish handing out presents--I think the naughty kids didn't get anything. I caught one of them stealing a pencil today--I started to have pity on him since he does have some sort of mental problem, but this was too much. I did pull him outside of the classroom to talk to him, but who knows how effective this is. What he needs is a parent conference--and so I left a note for their teacher with this suggestion, but I don't know if she will follow through on it.
One of the other boys loves to talk and be the center of attention. "I like being in photos." I was going to tell him he's like Paris Hilton... he's also seems to be a bit of a dictator on the playground, deciding who can play soccer with him and who gets to be what position.
The kids don't see me as anything more than temporary help, I don't think... some will probably say hi when they see me, others will be rude/uneducated. But what can one really expect from the kids of strangers these days? In a world like this, watching kids at their best can make one forget the crap in the world. (Like the pious girl--I should have suggested that she think about becoming a nun, I wonder what her reaction would have been.) One expects less from kids than from adults, because they're immature, and not really at fault with respect to that condition, unlike adults who are immature...
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