Teaching Hope: CHALLENGES

The 22rd story of this book talks about a girl who has suicidal thoughts and has no one to turn to, and completely feels hopeless. The teacher does not know what to do but to tell her to get help which pushes her away. In the end the girl got help and then trusted the teacher and gave her, her journal which she writes in everyday. In this journal she learned about all the heartache that this girl had gone through and why she is the way she is. I think it is so important to know all of your students so that you can relate more to them and gain trust, especially in a situation like this one, where the teacher could help this student a little more.

The 25th story was about a young girl who had grown up in the south, with southern mannerisms, they then had to move due to their dad dealing drugs, she moved to a big city which she describes as the “dark cloud city”. Only being in middle school she was shocked at the fact that all the other kids were having sex, drinking, smoking etc, as she was still saying yes sir and ma’am. Soon she began in this spiral and got pregnant at 14 and had the kid at 15. Having a young child of her own, she is trying to make sure her life does not end up the same, and she also wants to show others that you do not have to follow down that same path. Going back to school and getting an education will show her daughter and others that you do not have to do what everyone else is doing, you can be better.

Story 26 in the challenges section I find to be very interesting, a young girl goes to her teacher and tells her how she is no longer a virgin and her mother found out and started to hit her with a belt. The teacher told her she was a “mandatory reporter” of this incidence, and the girl started to plead not to tell anyone, because it breaks her trust. I find this is one of the hardest things as a teacher, you are supposed to tell, but at the same time you are breaking your trust with the student so that they will never tell you anything again. I feel as though some of this stuff is a pick and choose, if you break that trust and something really does happen they will never tell you about it again.