Our students are our future

 I hear a lot these days about the state of our union when the young people rise to positions of power. I worry many nights that I am not teaching the right things or capturing the right mood for the students to realize their potential. I understand that many students do not have a good home life and their families have struggles that I cannot even begin to comprehend but in the eight years I have been teaching, my stars outshine the negativity that many people associate with students. 

One class worked at Habitat for Humanity and built an overflow storage shed which is still standing. They filled baskets with items like powder and soap, toothpaste and deodorant for a senior center and then spent the day listening to stories from the residents. (I get teary just thinking about it)

They move on and sometimes you can keep up with their lives and the feeling of pride for perhaps being a small part of their growth.

The two young women, and they are young women now, at the top of the page are two of my stars. When another hurricane, this one named Irma, caused damage to Arcadia, they were instrumental in delivering necessities to families that needed help. 145 families which meant a lot of time and effort to deliver these most needed items. The smile on my face is real. These young ladies were still in high school. That did not stop them. We had so many donations, they just kept coming. This was four years ago before this distinct, negative malaise fell over our country.

Not one time did anyone ask what their politics were. No one refused help or refused to help because of the racial makeup of the people receiving the help. It did not matter what your sex was. If you needed toiletries and they knew about it, they found a way to get it to you. My friends gave and gave and gave. 

These two young ladies, along with their parents who helped tremendously, (thanks Rachel) will continue to contribute to society. I hope they never lose their generous, giving spirit or let the naysayers make them feel that their contributions to their community don't matter. 

It is students like these that I teach every day. Please don't believe everything you read. They are our future and there are still bright stars out there, learning every day. The country and their communities are lucky to have them. Kudos!