The Bus Stop pt.1

My guess is that when my obituary is printed, my first name will be spelled incorrectly. I would also bet that where ever my body or ashes end up for what is suppose to be eternity the name recorded to tell the world that I, Eliott Jeffrey Florentine IV, lived and died in Savannah, GA will also be misspelled. To her credit my mother’s original intention was to name me Elliot; spelled correctly. The way my mom told the story to me and countless others during my childhood is that the attending nurse who completed the birth certificate the morning of my birth did not realize her mistake until my mother, Charlotte Florentine, had written out the Charl in her first name. The nurse stopped my mother immediately during mid signing, and apologetically pointed out her error. Whether it was the medication, or post birth hormonal fluctuations, I’ll never know, but my mom decided she liked that spelling better. She told the nurse, and nearly everyone she came in contact with over the course of her life that, “It will set him apart. It’s unique, and people will always remember that name because of its spelling.” I say over the course of her life, because she passed away six years ago at the relatively young age of sixty-three. A brain aneurysm as she napped in her favorite recliner. As for the name, it turns out she was right about people remembering it, but it’s got nothing to do with the spelling.

At one time my family was considered one step removed from southern royalty. Boy, times sure have changed. My great-grandfather, the first Elliot Jeffrey Florentine, used to own and operate five very successful family style restaurants throughout Savannah. He even had one in Beaufort, South Carolina, and in what would eventually become Garden City. Like thousands of businesses across the country the Great Depression of the early thirties wiped him out. The restaurants closed down and grandpa skipped town. He was just too embarrassed to stand in line at the very soup kitchen he used to send the restaurant’s leftovers and out-of-dates. Well…if I’m being honest, and at this moment I guess it can’t hurt, that is only half the truth. It is indeed true that the first Elliot, spelled correctly, did skip town, but despite what many members of my family still like to believe it had nothing to do with his embarrassment. The truth of the matter is that good’ol great grandpa was a shrewd businessman with his pulse on the free market. He could sniff out a changing economy quicker than a bloodhound could locate a bloody glove that was two feet in front of it.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the family, including dear sweet great grandma, the first Elliot, spelled correctly, sold off all the restaurants six months before the market crashed. He skipped town days after the bottom fell out with a buttload of money, and not one, but two of the waitresses from the old River Street location. A short time later the man who purchased the restaurants from great-grandpa tied two tire rims to each of his ankles, and threw himself into the river for which that very street is named. It wasn’t until his body washed up in South Carolina three days later that the mystery of what my great grandpa had done was revealed. Personally, I believe those events led to my family’s undoing for generations to come, and in many ways likely have a lot to do with why you’re now reading this.

Same Students, Different Year

Even for veteran teachers, each new school year brings with it new challenges. As I've discussed on recent posts I will face many new challenges this coming year including working with different staff members, teaching at a new grade level, becoming adjusted to working with a new principal, and teaching a new literacy program adopted by the county. However, above and beyond these challenges the one I'm most concerned with is being charged with teaching the same students I taught last year.

On the service this would not seem to be much of a problem, but with it comes many issues that I've never dealt with previously. One of the first is that 7th grade is such a transitive year for young people as they are in their adolescent prime. I have only ever taught 7th grade, so I have learned to adjust to those many changes and many personalities that 7th graders seem to have. This coming year I will have the same students for 8th grade. My hope is that many of the students have matured over the summer. It will be interesting to see how the students react to me, as well as how I react to them, since we already know each others strengths and weaknesses.

I pride myself on the fact that in previous years of teaching I learn as little about my incoming students as possible, so as not to prejudice myself in any way towards the student. This year the challenge for me will be to forget my past history with the students, and begin anew. I hope that the students will do the same in return. While there will be many students that are thrilled to have me as their teacher again, there will certainly be those that absolutely dread it. The same goes for me. There are so many students I'm am terribly excited to teach again. There are also some students that I'm quite Frankly not looking forward to dealing with again.

It should be an interesting year! Let me know if you have any suggestions for making this year's unusual circumstance go smoother.

Something for Nothing

Is it just me or does it seem that more and more people are developing a sense of personal entitlement? It has begun to feel like many, regardless of age, sex, race, or socioeconomic background, have an expectation to be provided things for free. As usual the trends that occur in society are often replicated in our schools. The sense of entitlement that has run rampant in so many facets of our daily lives has unfortunately invaded our schools, and it will prove disastrous for our American educational system if something is not done to solve this problem. From people throwing a fit to receive 'free' healthcare to parents writing letters to the local newspaper complaining that no one at the school would pay for her child's lunch when SHE forgot to give money to HER child. Needless to say things are getting out of control. The old adage that "anything free isn't worth having" seems to have been replaced with "anything you have to work for isn't worth having".

Perhaps I'm an oddball, but I cannot understand the mentality needed to go through life expecting everything to either be done for you or given to you. Many students that continually turn in sub standard work, when they turn in work at all, have the audacity to question you as to why their grade is not higher. Many students simply expect that you will provide them with school supplies, and often come to class completely unprepared. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. So where are our students learning that they don't need to do anything?

As a teacher I would like to place all the blame on the parents, but the fact is that many of our school policies encourage this entitlement mentality. It is a fact that in more cases than I want to believe possible parents are sending their children to school expecting the school system and the teachers to take care of their every need. The school system and/or the teachers usually go out of their way to ensure the student is provided the same opportunity as everyone else in the class...whether that means giving a student a pencil every single day to purchasing school clothes for a student. The entitlement monster continually feeds itself in that the parents expect the school and teachers to do everything for their child. The school and teachers are basically forced to fill the parental role for fear of lawsuits. The parent gets their way and the vicious handout cycle continues. Who is more to blame...the user or the supplier? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Here Comes August 25th!

We are quickly nearing the start of a new school year, and as it draws closer I find myself pondering the many new challenges I'll have to confront. I will no longer be teaching 7th grade language arts and social studies. For the first time I will be teaching those same subjects in the 8th grade. Along with getting myself familiar with the new curriculums, I have also had to prepare myself to teach a fairly new literacy program adopted by Pitt County Schools called LANGUAGE!. Only being placed in charge of teaching this new program would have been challenging enough in and of itself, but when coupled with teaching a new grade level as well I certainly have my work cut out for me in the coming school year. Addtionally, our school will have a new principal which is something else I have yet to experience in my young career. I am interested, and I must admit somewhat anxious, to see how things work with a new boss.

Along with those major changes and challenges I will face next year there is also the fact that I will have to get to know and work with an entirely different team of teachers and personalities. That also brings with it a certain level of anxiety, because I had developed a nice comfort level with my 7th grade team. We knew each other's teaching styles, personalities, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. Essentially, I will have to start from scratch in learning those things from my new team. When added to the changes and challenges I have already discussed the coming school year seems quite a daunting task to overcome.

Above and beyond all of these impending changes, and the one I am most concerned with, is the fact that I will be teaching many of the same students I taught last school year when they were in the 7th grade. I feel certain that many students will be thrilled with the idea of me being their language arts and/or social studies teacher again, and yet I also know that many students will not be pleased to have me as their teacher for another 180 days. People change and this is particularly true for students at the middle school level that are constantly dealing with the hormonal ups and downs and everything else that adolescence brings with it. At that age things that were once 'cool and fun' can become 'dull and unwanted' instantly, and vice versa. My other concern is how I will react and teach the same students I had last year. In some ways it will work to my advantage to already know my students, and in other ways I feel it will be detrimental because I will have no way of knowing in the beginning if that particular student has changed and/or matured. In part their (my students) reaction(s) to me will come from the changes they will have to deal with from me. Many of the things I could do at the 7th grade level will not work at the 8th grade level, so it will be fascinating to see what happens.

I will keep you posted! :)