fly with mhe

Read this line somewhere, “When your student hurt you, do not hurt him back. Hurt the other student instead”. Haha.. Unreasonable.. Okay okay.. I’m just tired right now. Thinking up of reasons why I don’t want to go to work today or handle my MR student. For one, she would be hyperactive again this time. Yesterday, I had to restrain her feet so she won’t kick me or lie on the floor. I must say, she made me weary after almost an hour of doing that. I felt like I had a workout in the gym, except that my dumbells were her feet and strength. Hahayz.. Sometimes, I just want to sit with her in our room and not say anything, not try to teach her anything and just stare blankly at her, see her smile for no reason at all. Glad my other 2 students weren’t as tough as her yesterday.

For the sake of this person who wants update on me and my activities (hehe.. peace..).

Well, there’s nothing much this past few days. Work, leisure, food, etc. The internet was slow due to a network breakage in the Southeast Asia area as I’ve read on another blog. So I resorted to dvd marathon instead of waiting and wasting time on the turtle speed net. And much reading on a book about Dyslexia. No wonder I had a slight headache and my eyes hurt nowadays. Ignoring to wear the glasses and continuing on reading and watching much. That’s what I got. Glad I got a restful sleep last night than opting to continue on the dvd marathon of the tv series NUMB3RS, which my younger brother is still watching as of this post, to catch up with me. I’ve talked to one of my friends about this tv series and exclaimed that he cannot relate and is uninterested. Huh.. He made me think I’m kind of weird to like numbers so much and how the characters and producers played it in this tv series. Oh well.. At least my younger bro also liked it. Haha.. Still waiting on my younger bro though to call me so we can watch it together. We almost had the same interest though, when it comes to these tv series. Haha.. Credits to that.

Sean Porter: Everybody listen up. The Gridiron is a football field. On the Gridiron, we do it my way, not your way. Your way got you here. Whatever gang you claim, whatever hood you’re from, this is your hood now.

Sean Porter: Most sixteen/seventeen year old kids, they make a bad choice. Something gets broken, they screw up in class, hurt somebody’s feelings, show up at the prom drunk. They get sent to the Principal’s office, have their car keys taken away or get grounded. Then there’s kids that make a bad choice, somebody ends up shot dead in the parking lot. Those kids get sent here.

Lines from the movie “Gridiron Gang”.

The “Gridiron Gang” is about making a difference, one person at a time, in small but significant ways, in the lives of troubled youths that societies the world over would just as soon ignore. Much like the situations we have in our communities nowadays.  Whenever there’s violence, the youth gets blamed for it. Whenever there’s resistance, the youths gets tagged into it. What are we doing about it?

Had a talk with a fellow youth worker and an apprentice last night. He was asking how they’re doing, their activities until our talk touched to our effectiveness as youth workers. When people look at them, specifically the boys or rather guys, they’ll conclude that nothing really has changed. They get frustrated and was on the verge of giving up because their desired results were not met. It isn’t like that as we all know. Life can’t be changed instantly like snapping a finger. It is not done overnight. It is a process. I had been closely with them for over 2 year now and I could say that they’ve really changed. Not with every member of the group though. For some, the changes were obvious to us. At times, their parents, brothers and sisters were the once telling me about it. While there were instances also that I hear complains about them from their parents. Some changes were in their choice of company, in their decision-making, in perseverance to continue on with their studies and in their choice of activities. I wonder what their lives were when they weren’t together, when they’re at school, when they’re with friends other than the group we have. We’re they good examples and influence to them? I certainly hope so. They live in a society were drinking, smoking, youth and adult violence, teen pregnancy and youth drop-outs were rampant. Older brothers who hadn’t finished college because they see school as a waste of their time and laziness with studies. These are what they usually see in their society. Deviating from their society’s norm could gather up praise and ridicule at the same time. Yet they still persevered and strive to do good and make a better future.

Two years, the changes may not be that big but at least we had planted a seed and continue to nurture it until maybe it is ready to be left alone. It is still worth it. Our effort is not in vain. The journey is not over yet.

Haven’t been on the net lately. I’ve been gone for 3 days I think. So what updates have I missed? Hmm.. I hope not much. Wonder what I had been up to when I’m at home and not doing work-related activities or not yet in my bed? Been glued to NUMB3RS the television series and would watch a marathon run of it without getting bored. In fact, it got me interested that I’ve planned to buy the other 2 series soon. Calculations, math, numbers, hypothesis and proving it through numbers, family relationships, etc., count to that randomness. Would do a marathon run on it again even if I still have classes to attend to the following day. Haha..

With the entries I posted, I’m sure you’ve come to know the nature of my income generating job. You’ve known of the struggles I endured to defend myself though there were times that I wasn’t successful. I get to receive punches, kicks, spits, slaps, shoes thrown, etc. every now and then and I just address it as part of the job. Why? Because even if I wanted so much to restrain, scold or punish her, she wouldn’t even understand why I had to do it nor would she understand that it hurts. Unless maybe if  I do to her what she does to me, revenge. NO, can’t. With the case of the ADHD kid, it was his impulses that made him do it. And that’s what he is trying to control. That’s why he is my student. Patience is an essential virtue in my line of work, much patience that is. Even if my student had punched me on the head 5 times, 2 on my back, 1 on my right temple, 1 on my right jaw and 1 on my face, I could only cry from the pain. I could not hit her back or restrain her with my anger, I might hurt her and I don’t want to do that. My license will also be at stake. I just don’t want to mind it and concentrate more on how I can help my students. Even if sometimes, waking up to another teaching day is hard, much more when upon entering the gate, my students would then show hyperactive gestures. Expect that I’d be stern with my ADHD kid and merciful with my MR student. My Bipolar student was also different, I still had to get to know her more. As well as my other 2 students who were not so difficult to deal with anyway.

I am very glad we have Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I sometimes wish that there won’t be Tuesdays and Thursdays to deal with. Hehe.. I’m glad there’s Fridays to end the workweek. Saturdays and Sundays to wake up late, have some alone, quiet time without my students, leisure, meet up with the youths, jam with them and be recharged.

Thankful also to the food that relieves my stress, even if it makes me fat.