Hope Is Renewed

We're back! We're back from feeling discouraged, and that maybe it's best to just stop teaching on Wednesdays. There's nothing like the feeling of success to reinforce the desire to keep going.

Two days ago we had class, and the theme was about continuing to be polite and kind when you are being treated in the opposite way. The story was about 'Abdul-Baha in Akka, when a man was insulting, rude and unkind to Him for 24 years. It captured the children's attention. They also did really well memorizing the quote. "O friend! In the garden of thy heart, plant naught but the rose of love." One child, whose mother is from Mexico, and father from Morocco, chose to learn it in Spanish.

Before all _____ broke loose two weeks ago

Something that's different is that we decided to go back to Book 3. So many of the children we teach now did not go through that curriculum, so it made sense to focus on it.

Our class follows the school system's calendar. The summer break will begin in June, so we'll continue to have class through May. There are two more to go, and it's a feeling of steadfastness to continue, no matter what.


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What was the lesson today? Having love for others, no matter how you are treated.

Virtue: Love

"O friend! In the garden of thy heart, plant naught but the rose of love."
~ from the Baha'i Writings

Catching Up

Where did the time go?

There's nothing like feeling discouraged with class to keep me from posting about a class. About 3 weeks ago, we had a class that was right after the TAAS test. The kids had taken the test for most of Tuesday and Wednesday, and they came to us completely wound up and stressed. They didn't say it in those words, but their behavior was probably the worst and for the first time the other teacher expressed such concern that perhaps we needed to stop having class.

After consulting, we decided to ask the Local Spiritual Assembly of Austin for support. We hope to meet with them, or a task force, before the end of the month.

As would follow, class this Wednesday was pretty good in terms of classroom management, and leaving feeling like the kids learned, and it was not necessary for the teachers to take 4 hours to recuperate.

The More Teachers, the Merrier

Class last week was pretty smooth. This week is spring break and Naw-Ruz, so we plan to resume on March 25th.

Let me start by thanking the two substitutes who expertly nurtured the children, took photos and engaged each child.

Big sister holds hands tightly, as the little ones eagerly walk to class a few weeks ago.

Five kids attended today; one is out of the picture, exploring the classroom.
That's me with the cheesy grin.

Today there was a light rain, after months of dry days - and drought. No one came to class on their own, so at 3:55 I headed out to see if anyone wanted to come. We made it back to class around 4:15 to find the substitutes there and ready to go. It's true that there are some children who are more difficult when it comes to discipline, and I find myself considering not going by their home, justifying in my mind that 'class is late.' But when I remind myself that all children need to loved and taught, not just the ones who are easy to be around, I stop by anyway.

How was class today? More teachers yielded better behavior, more unity (and ease for me). It's also becoming clear that the kids who have acted the toughest, are responding the most to consistency of having class, and the love the teachers show in their kindness and attention. The more the merrier!