Sunday, as I talked with several very nice relief volunteers who had come down from North Carolina to help out, (and cook a great hamburger lunch for our church!)I realized that it had been a while since I had updated readers on the kids, and how they are doing.
All in all the kids are holding up remarkably well in this strange new reality they find themselves in. As with every spring, the kids are starting to be truly horrible to each other, with name calling, unpleasantness and general nastiness running rampant. The boys are starting to "bow up" at each other (how we here in the South describe behavior that might also be known as "trying to pick a fight") and many of the girls are just being mean. Some might take this as a deeply disturbing new development, but in all of my five years of teaching, I have seen this as a sure sign of spring, just the same as the blooming azaleas and wisteria. I've also seen it on countless nature specials, particularly with bighorn sheep. The young males bash their heads together, whilst the young female bighorns talk about each other, and how straight or curly, big or small other females' horns are.
In the first five minutes of my classes, I always try to start off by asking if anyone has anything "neat or fun or interesting" to tell the class. Stories of mud riding on four-wheelers (an off-road vehicle, kind of like two motorbikes strapped together ... but not really), birthday party attendance and new guinea pigs have taken the place of storm stories. More and more, I hear stories of children moving into refurbished bedrooms, or new houses starting to be built. Occasionally a child will draw a tornado, storm or a lost possession or pet, but SpongeBob, Spiderman and rampaging dragons are definitely seen more often. I do still see lots of drawings of FEMA trailers, including some rather detailed ones that include the PVC sewage pipes snaking off into the distance.
But things aren't all peachy, and even the most positive of us can find things that we might complain about from time to time, if we were so inclined.
When I posted my essay on the "Not so thrilling" visit from the chief, someone responded to me by saying I should stop complaining, and that the kids surely enjoyed their visit with Laura Bush and Brett Favre. I'm sure that those kids did ... but once again, they weren't my students. Ms. Bush, Mr. Favre, and their entourage drove right past my students and went to a school about 30 minutes north in the county -- a school that wasn't destroyed in the storm, where the kids don't live in trailers (because they didn't lose their houses) and where classes aren't held in portable classrooms. Then they built them a new playground. Meanwhile, the students from both of my schools have recess and PE in a vacant dirt lot with no swing set, no slides, no monkey bars. I've heard that the generous folks (and I mean that, I'm not being sarcastic) from KABOOM playgrounds have planned to build us a playground on Aug. 29, 2006 (which is next school year). I understand the idea behind replacing bad memories with good ones, but it does seem like a long time for my kids to go without. I also understand that beggars can't be choosers, nor can they set timetables.
The bus situation
The biggest complaint I might be tempted to make would be about the bus situation. Since the elementary, middle and high schools are now basically on the same campus (the high school is on the other side of a big football field/track/baseball complex), and with over half of the district's buses lost in the storm, we've had K-12 grade students riding the same bus. Worse is the fact that many of these K-5 graders have to sit on the bus for nearly an hour before it leaves to take them home. Worse still is the fact that many of the students are forced to sit in the cafeteria (and try to keep themselves out of trouble) and wait while a bus runs its first route, and then comes back to take them home. It's not at all unusual to see kindergartners still waiting at 4:30 for the bus to take them home. Another part of the problem is that many of the teacher's aides who drove buses have been transferred to other schools and are unavailable. Some of the other drivers have decided that the middle schoolers are too "rambunctious" (an understatement) for them to handle while trying to drive as well, and have quit. Some others resigned from their bus duties after deciding that the legal risk and liability for 80 to 90 kids, K-12, on one bus was just too much to bear. (Not only that, I was informed by one of the former drivers that when they drive the additional route they receive a whopping $13 for their trouble.) I have been assured by one of the superintendents of the board that if they could find drivers, buses could be found. I keep wondering if some arrangement couldn't be worked out with the National Guard or Army -- you know, some group that has people used to operating large machines under hazardous, hostile conditions. I suppose every teacher has excuses about why they can't do it, and mine would have to be running to after-school guitar clubs for the elementary and middle schools, as well as helping Heather with the drama club. Three afternoons a week kind of cuts into bus driving time. Meanwhile, there they sit, day after day.
However, the kids seem to keep smiling through it all. I think that they are glad to have something to do and some place to go. Even though they only have a dirt field to play in at school, they find interesting rocks to look at and collect. (And I tell them to say that they are studying "geology," that way their classroom teachers won't make them throw out the stones they gather.) Even though they sit and wait to go home to their trailers, they seem to entertain themselves with their friends and a donated sketch pad or two.
One sign of springtime I have found to be conspicuously absent is the longing for summer vacation. Usually at this time of year, the moans and groans in the classroom seem to indicate the extreme effort that students must go through to concentrate. I think that the kids know that this summer will be different. This summer will be about cleaning and hauling, rebuilding and repair. This summer will not hold many of the traditional vacation fun at the beaches (which will be closed for a long time.)
For these kids, it's a different world out there.
A 'magic' morale builder for artists
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So many positive comments ....this is Great...hope ya all have a wonderful day!....oh Rhonda don't just "peek"...come on down and stay awhile..you'll be welcomed
andy,ms (Sent Mar 29, 2006 8:34:07 AM)
I'm touched by so many of your comments and your words of support. I am grateful, too for your comments reminding me that other areas and schools were affected by this storm. Some times it's hard to comprehend the enormity of this situation, and the number of people hurt by it, both on the Coast, and across the whole nation. It's difficult not to let your concern for those kids you are directly responsible for color your picture of the whole situation. Sometimes this sounds like whining. I say, God Bless "Kaboom!", Spam, Pringles, and the Red Cross, (and so many other companies donating relief supplies, funds, and products) and the countless volunteers and kind hearts throughout the world for everything they are doing to help, regardless of who actually gets the help. Thank you all so much.
Steve Harper Waveland/Pearlington MS (Sent Mar 30, 2006 11:13:01 AM)
Steve,
It has taken me this long to respond to your most eloquent story. I've forwarded your stories to anyone who will read them. I was one of those who cooked the hamburgers. We would all like to thank you..you all were so very gracious! It was such a moving, exhilarating and rewarding experience for our small group. I'm still experiencing the adrenalin rush, even after 4 weeks and regret that we're here and not there!
I saw someone else write a similar invitation from Asheville--you are invited to Hillsborough, NC,too! You and your wife may want to get away from it all, for a time of rest and recovery. I'm also offering to trade house for Fema trailer once our school vacations begin in June, if you'd like!
I'm hoping that you'll accept this offer, or at least respond by email. We'd like to offer our support in some way that would make sense to you, your parish and to your students.
Please take a look around your schools, ask questions and then let me know how my elem. school can be of some benefit. One third grade has offered to collect paperback books to send down and have asked how else could they be helpful.
Jane Purdy, Mebane, NC (Sent Apr 13, 2006 10:44:19 AM)
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