#1 tackling the issue of bullying

I've decided to start blogging again -- but specifically, I'll be blogging about the many things I will encounter through my teaching experiences.

I start my 9 week student teaching tomorrow! For 9 weeks, I will be teaching an hour long lesson every day. I've got placed in an elementary school in Denison ISD -- I'll be working with 2nd graders! :)

I checked the school website and found that there are only 2 teachers for each grade level -- so that means, the school is very small. I'm assuming that all of the students grow up knowing each other...my elementary school back in Korea was just as small -- and there were a lot of benefits to that, so we'll see how it plays out through these next couple of weeks.

I'm looking forward to making my own lesson plans (that aren't focused on teaching ESL English) and really teaching -- I'm really wanting to get better at planning lessons that reach out to all of the varying learning levels within the classroom. I'm super excited to be working with kids within a classroom setting and learning from my cooperating teacher

I'm not looking forward to waking up super early and getting to the school before 8. I'm definitely not a morning person -- this is when I wish my jet lag was still lingering!


on a side note

Every Sunday morning on the way to church, I usually try and have meaningful conversations with my younger brother (since I'm away at school during the week, this is usually the most 'bonding' time I have with him)

He told me how his classmates tease him and call him names.
"sweaty pants" "sweat monster"
"your water bottle is your girlfriend"
"your sweat is how you pee"

yes, my younger brother sweats like crazy and he drinks a lot of water..he's a healthy growing boy! I'm just shocked...
yes I tease him all the time (I'm guilty) but I just can't believe MY younger brother is getting bullied at school.

And the thing that breaks my heart the most is how he's trying to be strong by saying it doesn't bother him and that he tries to ignore it. But just seeing his facial expression and how he expressed this...I know he's still affected by this. I mean who wouldn't?

the saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"
is NOT true. words do hurt.

I'm not sure how to really approach this..
I just continued to ask questions,continued to encourage him to ignore it the best he could, gave him some advice on smart combats...

I'm really touched by my younger brother's courage. In grade school, I've learned how being teased or rejected by peer groups can really lower your self esteem and cause behavioral issues...but I'm just really thankful that my younger brother has such a strong personality.

By the time we got to church and by the end of our conversation, my younger brother said this
"Tiffany nuna, we learned that God makes each and everyone special. I'm just special in my own way and some kids at school just don't see that. It's really okay..I'm okay..it doesn't bother me that much"

my younger brother is amazing.
and this really encourages me to really tackle the issue of bullying in my own classroom.