God Seeps In

I was asked today, "How's your year going?"
Like some Christian Terminator, I ran though several suggestions in my mind of how I wanted to respond.
Oh, It's one of them years.
I teach fifth grade, so, yeah, you know.
If it weren't for my boss....
Any of the responses above could be true, depending on the train of thought.  That's the scary thing about sarcasm.  There's truth in the barbs, whether you're laughing about yourself or making sly comments about someone else.  Being at church, I decided it wasn't the place for such things and I answered with," It's beginning to calm down."
My friend chuckled and said, "Ray, it's almost the end of the year."


True, I'm in the final quarter of my year.  I have about 5 good weeks of teaching max, one week of testing and about 2 weeks or so of prep work, 1 week of parties, and 1 week of maintenance and fifth grade graduation supervision.  And Mondays.  I have maybe 6 Mondays to go.

Now, I don't hate Mondays.  In my response to grace, I've looked at Mondays as the test of what I take notes and digest from Sunday.  Putting it into practice.  I meet people daily that sigh when you ask them, "How is your day?" They post disparaging pictures and posts as if Monday was personally responsible for losing a limb.  Then the cycle continues.  By Wednesday, you're happy because it's "almost Friday," and then on Friday it's all smiles because the weekend offers some grand illusion of the life you were supposed to lead.  To me, the life that we are supposed to be living is NOW, all week, everyday.

Mondays are particularly important.  I've been taking the extra time I don't use from having a "special" (Art, PE, Music or Library) by devising silly competitions and building character.  They have been their most active and attentive singing, "Lean on Me," or "Hold Us Together," playing clipboard volleyball and wrapping teammates in toilet paper.  Afterwards, we discuss subjects like bullying (and before you roll your eyes and say the word has been overused, well, it has), getting along with others and setting goals.

In a response to my church's "Be Kind Today" campaign, we have been incorporating a "Room 160 Random Acts of Kindness."  Simple tasks such as:
Don't laugh when someone gets made fun of
Take someone's recess detention for them.
Leave a quarter in a cart at Aldi's or a few in a Coke machine
Give a random stranger a compliment (with a parent toting along).
Say something nice on Facebook.

Their responses have been interesting.  A few of the kids told me they got in trouble for giving money to strangers or a homeless person outside of a business.  One kid was torn because he felt his mother got mad at him in the same magnitude as when he does something wrong.  Others told awkward stories of stranger befuddlement at getting a compliment.  I told them that wherever they are, no one is used to being nice (perhaps that's not always true, in hindsight).  But I gave them a litmus test.  I asked them the next time they are in a long line, say something nice or start a conversation with something positive and see the reaction.

Some of the tasks are oriented more for personal growth from information we gathered in previous sessions.
Don't watch an R-rated movie, even if it means being alone in your house.
Try not to curse for one day.
Turn off 107.5 for one night.

Most of my kids readily admit their parents don't make great choices with their entertainment.  I get that.  Once, as a kid, I watched Scarface at the foot of my parent's bed until 5 minutes in the cursing drove them to  kick me away (I watched it later that week by myself in the middle of the night).  Cruz has even taken me to task for the few PG-13 words in Beetlejuice as his ticket to swear at-will.  This helps me place my students in the proper perspective as well.  I fight against the culture each and every day I ask them to sit quietly and read a novel.  I get accusations from parents who think I send their kids to detention for not being able to see the board.  It's true that many of my parents probably had less than desirable academic careers.  The parents in my Life Group, or the ones I see at my local church, drive their minivans from youth sporting event to bible studies and dance practices.  My parents are probably working, driving to their second job.

When my church first offered the challenge of doing Random Acts of Easter, I jumped at the chance.  I grabbed 5 yard signs (distribute 3 with possible destinations for the others) and several business sized cards in hopes I would free the world from itself.  I have only given a few out.  If my pastor were counting cards like some Glengarry Glen Ross-Alec Baldwin quota robot, I'd be getting a set of steak knives right about now.  Luckily for me, grace doesn't quite work like that.

You see, God seeps in.  He knows.  He had me at church this evening in a meeting, allowing me to share my God story sitting next to my wife, holding hands in prayer.  At school, my student answered a question today in class, the same kid who was in trouble for giving money to a stranger.  I asked the class, "What type of reaction would Atticus have towards Bob Ewell's threats?"

"I think he'd pray for him, Mr. Cordova."

Amen, brother.  Amen.