"What is tomorrow, miss?"

"Your birthday, of course!"

They love celebrating their birthdays.  I think that they have celebrated birthdays their entire lives, but maybe not now so much since most are living with distant relatives.  They get a cupcake and a work-free day and that is enough.  They are happy. 

Past tense verbs

I visited two students today.  At both houses there was 1 small space heater per house (not per room).  It is 30 degrees outside.  We fixed the heating problems.  Then the a mother of one students told me her story.  It went something like this.

     'I abandoned him as a baby, I went to find a better life in America.  I left him with his father but then his father was murdered and he was left with a grandfather who was old and didn't make him mind.  At age 16 he came to America and I met him in the airport.  He saw me and wouldn't stop crying, he said "you are not my mother."  He had not seen me since he was a baby.  Now he will not mind me and he will not call me mother.  He resents his younger siblings here who I had in America.  He does not respect me and can be difficult.'

This is my student.  He can be difficult and disrespectful and hard to deal with but wow! do I have so much more patience with this kid after hearing about his life.  To everyone else in the school he is just another ESOL student.  To me he is hurt, he is potential, and he is loveable.  I listen to him, encourage him, push him, see him give up on a daily basis, watch him disrespect women daily (don't worry, I do something about all of this), but I will never give up on him.  So many people have already.  I love this kid, I love all my kids.  How could you not?

Time to learn some past tense verbs.

Adjectives

"I was at the point of death, miss".  That's what a student said to me during our one-on-one conference time about grades.  I hadn't asked, it wasn't the topic of our conversation, but he wanted me to know.  He had come to America 8 months before, he told me how he came through Mexico on foot mostly.  He was stranded, starved, almost dead, kidnapped, ransomed, and released.  This happened just a few months ago.  Now he lives with a sister who doesn't know him and probably couldn't handle the extra strain on space and expense.  How am I supposed to teach adjectives after this?

English as a Second Language

I couldn't imagine a better profession for me.  I love languages, cultures and countries and I get to experience all of them through my students.  I love teaching but I wouldn't enjoy being a "traditional" teacher.  I have the same hours as my own kids and I get to see lots of growth in every single student daily.  I love teaching English.  I also love Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Welcome!