I was,... I mean I am,... well actually I'm supposed to be on the Weight Watchers program. I started over the winter & was doing well till I started getting pains in my leg. First I tried my own remedies, like walking longer and harder to "work through" the pain. That ended the day I actually had to walk backwards in order to make it home painfree! Then I had a doctor's prescription for physical therapy. The therapists did their best, gave me stretches to do at home, deep massages, asked many questions to help pinpoint the source of the pain; but I usually walked away from there with the same pain I walked in with. About the same time I signed up for yoga classes to see if they would help (again my own remedy.) Then we took tests like x-rays and MRIs. What they finally discovered is that I have arthritis in my hip. I'm waiting now to see the orthopedic specialist & find out what course of action he has for me.
I'm thinking, this has been all winter (about 6 months now) and I don't SEEM to be any further along than I was in November. However, we have tried various interventions, and at least we ruled out what would NOT work. I suppose there could be some other underlying issues besides arthritis, but I'm hoping that's where the expertise of the orthopedic specialist comes in.
What this brings me around to are my students, especially my strugglers. I have students who struggle academically, physically and socially. While most have made steady progress all year, others have struggled to achieve each new level of reading, each new concept of Math, and each new depth of writing. Some have held their ground on a Reading level for so long, they wonder if they'll ever move on to the next level! We have implemented the Response to Intervention plans, and these students receive additional small group support. I have faith, as I have seen this happen in past years, that these students will also succeed. We just need to be patient. I have often seen a student who has held on at one Reading level for several months, only to find that they jump 2-4 levels at the end of the year. Something finally clicked for them.
Did I do anything wildly different? Not usually. We use best practices, assessments and interventions that are scientifically based, and teachers, interventionists and Reading specialists who develop strong encouraging relationships with these students to gently push them toward success. And they do succeed! Some of our students need the help of additional professional specialists, and as I've mentioned before, our specialists do a great job of helping our students, inspite of not being bilingual. The rest of us, teachers and parents, sometimes need to just be patient, looking toward the end goal, and continuing to be our students{ best cheerleaders! I know sometimes I forget that part in all the stress of doing, doing, doing. That's when I just stop and say to my kids, "Did you know, I really like you a lot!" (¿Sabías que yo te quiero mucho?). Sometimes they say yes, and sometime they say no. That's when I realize my approach to teaching has gone out of balance. I need to stop & say it again, (¡TQM!), followed by a big hug.
We'll get there. Your child will get there. Remember the tortoise & the hare? Slow and steady....oh and don't forget to practice those flashcards!
~Sheryl René
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
T-H-E.....Who knew?
I love that our Immersion program is so well supported by some terrific specialists who work so hard to help our students who struggle. These specialists are our Resource Room teacher, psychologist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist and Social Worker. They are not Spanish speakers, so their time is limited for working with our students; but they have done a heroic job of being available to confer with us, to listen to our frustrations, concerns, and questions, and to offer us advice, with full knowledge that it may or may not be applicable to our Spanish Immersion setting.
I am thankful for "teachable moments" as one professional to another. Just this week I was talking with our Resource Room teacher, and she mentioned her concern that our Spanish Immersion students tend to get stuck spelling 'the' as 'thu'. She was so perplexed as to how these students came up with 'u', until I explained that with Spanish the vowels have only one sound, and that sound is spelled just like it's name says. So for these kids, when they hear someone say 'the' in English they go directly for the letter that they've been taught that makes the "uh" sound in English.....the letter u! (Good ole' short vowels!!) These students are actually employing great transfer skills from one language to another, only those skills aren't always univeral.
I was so encouraged that day when the Resource Room teacher not only accepted my explanation, but expressed her thanks for that mini lesson in Spanish phonetics. Now she has new understanding to help these students make the transition back into English, either as part of the reintegration of English into the Immersion classrooms, or for students who are transferring out of the Immersion program and back into the traditional classroom. LIkewise this same Resource Room teacher has given me many helpful ideas to help my student who has cerebral palsy. Thank you!
Do you have auxiliary staff who have been particularly helpful in your Immersion program? I encourage you to take time today to let them know how much you appreciate them! I think we all realize that there will not be an overabundance of bi-lingual specialists anytime soon in our schools. So what can we all do to better service our struggling immersion students and continue to involve our specialists? Let us know how you tackle these issues!
~Sheryl René
I am thankful for "teachable moments" as one professional to another. Just this week I was talking with our Resource Room teacher, and she mentioned her concern that our Spanish Immersion students tend to get stuck spelling 'the' as 'thu'. She was so perplexed as to how these students came up with 'u', until I explained that with Spanish the vowels have only one sound, and that sound is spelled just like it's name says. So for these kids, when they hear someone say 'the' in English they go directly for the letter that they've been taught that makes the "uh" sound in English.....the letter u! (Good ole' short vowels!!) These students are actually employing great transfer skills from one language to another, only those skills aren't always univeral.
I was so encouraged that day when the Resource Room teacher not only accepted my explanation, but expressed her thanks for that mini lesson in Spanish phonetics. Now she has new understanding to help these students make the transition back into English, either as part of the reintegration of English into the Immersion classrooms, or for students who are transferring out of the Immersion program and back into the traditional classroom. LIkewise this same Resource Room teacher has given me many helpful ideas to help my student who has cerebral palsy. Thank you!
Do you have auxiliary staff who have been particularly helpful in your Immersion program? I encourage you to take time today to let them know how much you appreciate them! I think we all realize that there will not be an overabundance of bi-lingual specialists anytime soon in our schools. So what can we all do to better service our struggling immersion students and continue to involve our specialists? Let us know how you tackle these issues!
~Sheryl René
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Baseball--béisbol--yakyuu
Spring Training is officially over. The Big Leagues have chosen who will be in "the Big Show", and who needs more preparation, rehabilitation or just maturation. For those of you who are in Spanish or Japanese Immersion, this season offers you a new theme to build your lessons around, as baseball is a passion in many Spanish speaking countries, Japan, and of course the USA! Baseball and Spanish are very close to my heart. Our son, Caleb, started playing baseball in Venezuela at age 6, and let me tell you in Venezuela they are SERIOUS about their 6 year old baseball players! No T-ball for them! Give them just a few weeks of coach pitch, and send them out there like the big boys! They practice 2-3 hours on each of their practice days. I remember many times seeing Caleb eat supper with his eyes closed, and his head just about falling into his plate, he was so tired. But he never wanted to give it up! With no worries about Winter weather in Latin America, the kids play baseball almost the entire school year. If they are a winning team and make it to national playoffs, they can be playing 12 months out of the year! That's one reason why you see so many Latin players in the Big Leagues these days: they've been training for this since they were 6 years old!
Many children in Latin America who do not have access to "little league" baseball, play their own version of street ball using broom sticks (palos) and metal bottle caps (chapas). What terrific training for finding that "sweet spot" on both the bat and the ball! Another thing that I always appreciated about raising our children in Venezuela was the "single sport focus"; that is, the parents weren't as driven to put their children into every sport available. You just picked one (for the most part) and stuck with it. While that might seem very limiting to us in the US, I saw how it helped our own children focus on a particular activity, and to hone their skills in that area. I truly believe that that ability to focus on one thing, and do it well, is an invaluable life skill, especially in light of our world of multi-tasking/multi-distractions.
That leads me back to the start of the 2012 Baseball season. We are so fortunate to have a minor league team, the West Michigan Whitecaps (part of the Detroit Tigers organization) right here in Grand Rapids! These players are just starting their professional baseball careers. They're fired up, nervous, over-confident, shy, and many of them do not speak English. We have had players in Grand Rapids from Japan, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama, and Mexico. If you're fortunate enough to live near a minor league team, such as the WhiteCaps, I highly recommend that you check with their business office to invite a player to your classroom. I've had players from Venezuela, the DR, and Puerto Rico in our Immersion program. We usually have them visit individual classrooms to speak to the students in Spanish about their life as a baseball player, their favorite foods, colors, etc. and always end with a time for the players to give the students their signatures. While it doesn't take much time from either your day or the players' lives, it reaps rich dividends in "real life" interaction in the target language, and sometimes begins some very special relationships between the players and the kids. I think we've actually helped ticket sales because of the visits! :)
I'll leave you with this commercial that highlights playing baseball in Venezuela with "chapas y palos":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ztZ2ww6zg
Play ball!
~Sheryl René
Many children in Latin America who do not have access to "little league" baseball, play their own version of street ball using broom sticks (palos) and metal bottle caps (chapas). What terrific training for finding that "sweet spot" on both the bat and the ball! Another thing that I always appreciated about raising our children in Venezuela was the "single sport focus"; that is, the parents weren't as driven to put their children into every sport available. You just picked one (for the most part) and stuck with it. While that might seem very limiting to us in the US, I saw how it helped our own children focus on a particular activity, and to hone their skills in that area. I truly believe that that ability to focus on one thing, and do it well, is an invaluable life skill, especially in light of our world of multi-tasking/multi-distractions.
That leads me back to the start of the 2012 Baseball season. We are so fortunate to have a minor league team, the West Michigan Whitecaps (part of the Detroit Tigers organization) right here in Grand Rapids! These players are just starting their professional baseball careers. They're fired up, nervous, over-confident, shy, and many of them do not speak English. We have had players in Grand Rapids from Japan, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama, and Mexico. If you're fortunate enough to live near a minor league team, such as the WhiteCaps, I highly recommend that you check with their business office to invite a player to your classroom. I've had players from Venezuela, the DR, and Puerto Rico in our Immersion program. We usually have them visit individual classrooms to speak to the students in Spanish about their life as a baseball player, their favorite foods, colors, etc. and always end with a time for the players to give the students their signatures. While it doesn't take much time from either your day or the players' lives, it reaps rich dividends in "real life" interaction in the target language, and sometimes begins some very special relationships between the players and the kids. I think we've actually helped ticket sales because of the visits! :)
I'll leave you with this commercial that highlights playing baseball in Venezuela with "chapas y palos":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ztZ2ww6zg
Play ball!
~Sheryl René
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Built up and Blessed!
I was reminded again tonight about how fortunate I am to work in an Immersion school in West Michigan. I just got home from the West Michigan Alliance of Immersion Educators. This alliance was started about 4 years ago as an attempt to give Immersion educators more support. We usually meet two times during the school year, with different schools hosting the group. Ada Vista Elementary in Ada, MI and Zeeland Christian in Zeeland, MI have been the two schools/districts that have hosted most of the meetings. We have teachers and administrators from public and private schools; from Spanish Immersion, Chinese Immersion, and two-way Immersion schools in attendance.
Each time we get together the host school invites a speaker to give us new food for thought. Tonight we were very fortunate to have Dr. Myriam Met, an expert educator in foreign language immersion. It is so refreshing to have a presentation specifically designed for us immersion teachers. It makes us feel like we're "home", knowing that this presenter has been where we are, and can empathize with our challenges and keep us focused on best practices for immersion. Thank you, Dr. Met!
Dr. Met will also be speaking at the MABE (Michigan Association of Bilingual Educators) conference in Detroit, Michigan May 10-11. If you've never been to MABE, I encourage you to attend this year. If you're from another state, I encourage you to seek out a similar Immersion association for further professional development and collegiality. (We also throw in a pretty yummy meal each time!)
Here's hoping all you immersion educators find those special groups and moments to build up and bless each other!
~Sheryl René
Each time we get together the host school invites a speaker to give us new food for thought. Tonight we were very fortunate to have Dr. Myriam Met, an expert educator in foreign language immersion. It is so refreshing to have a presentation specifically designed for us immersion teachers. It makes us feel like we're "home", knowing that this presenter has been where we are, and can empathize with our challenges and keep us focused on best practices for immersion. Thank you, Dr. Met!
Dr. Met will also be speaking at the MABE (Michigan Association of Bilingual Educators) conference in Detroit, Michigan May 10-11. If you've never been to MABE, I encourage you to attend this year. If you're from another state, I encourage you to seek out a similar Immersion association for further professional development and collegiality. (We also throw in a pretty yummy meal each time!)
Here's hoping all you immersion educators find those special groups and moments to build up and bless each other!
~Sheryl René
Monday, March 5, 2012
Is it really just generational?
As a baby boomer, I've seen music go from LPs, & 45s to cassette tapes, CDs, digital voice and personlized radio stations. The changes and updates are coming faster and faster. I discovered this just recently when my husband bought me a docking station for my ipod. However, even my ipod was so antiquated that the docking station did not have the inner workings to support my old ipod. OLD???? How can an ipod be old? Really?
Or what about when we decided to buy our first cell phone? We were living in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and were perfectly happy to continue using our landlines. However, our oldest daughter, Ashley, was participating in the Orquesta Infantil de Lara, and frequently went on road trips with the orchestra. With traffic being so unpredictable, we never knew when they would arrive, and so with her safety in mind, we purchased our first cell phone for her! It just made phone calls. Imagine that! No videos, no texting, no games, no camera, no video, no itunes! Ashley could now alert us to her arrival in time for us to be there waiting when she arrived on the bus.
But there was an unforeseen advantage to this cell phone purchase. Ashley started getting more phone calls from her friends, more invitations to parties, and in general a more lively social life. We had no idea that this would happen! We had actually been living on a totally different social plane up to this time.
So warp speed ahead to 2012 and let's look at all the technological options out there for us to use, in education specifically. Broadband brings so many cloud options into our classrooms. We can read books, listen to music, watch the news or a movie, or even watch the latest whimsical, homemade youtube video that ends up going viral & snagging big bucks! We can chat immediately with our closest friends, or our oldest, most distant acquaintance, through Facebook. We can upload photos immediately, and our former principal and his family, now living in Italy, can live the moment with us. We can Google the earth, and zoom in close enough to wave to our neighbors across the country! For those of us who may have dreamed of becoming authors, we can start writing our thoughts on a public blog and see if they resonate with others.
Technology is a wonderful gift! And while I warm up to each new venture a little hesitantly, I do eventually find someone who will help me learn the intricacies of using it; and I feel more connected to my culture, the 21st century, and to education in general. But quite honestly, I still love sitting in my old gold, stuffed chair, with my first graders gathered close, leaning in to hear what happens next to Jorge el curioso (Curious George) as he stumbles into one more new adventure. I love looking into their eyes, I love seeing the surprise, laughter, and tenderness on their faces as they feel the moment with me. I'm reading to these impressionable 6 &7 year olds. I have their undivided attention. And I'm using a book. I don't know if I'll ever be able to totally give up my books for technology. Hopefully, they'll be able to co-exist amicably in my world.
~Sheryl René
Or what about when we decided to buy our first cell phone? We were living in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and were perfectly happy to continue using our landlines. However, our oldest daughter, Ashley, was participating in the Orquesta Infantil de Lara, and frequently went on road trips with the orchestra. With traffic being so unpredictable, we never knew when they would arrive, and so with her safety in mind, we purchased our first cell phone for her! It just made phone calls. Imagine that! No videos, no texting, no games, no camera, no video, no itunes! Ashley could now alert us to her arrival in time for us to be there waiting when she arrived on the bus.
But there was an unforeseen advantage to this cell phone purchase. Ashley started getting more phone calls from her friends, more invitations to parties, and in general a more lively social life. We had no idea that this would happen! We had actually been living on a totally different social plane up to this time.
So warp speed ahead to 2012 and let's look at all the technological options out there for us to use, in education specifically. Broadband brings so many cloud options into our classrooms. We can read books, listen to music, watch the news or a movie, or even watch the latest whimsical, homemade youtube video that ends up going viral & snagging big bucks! We can chat immediately with our closest friends, or our oldest, most distant acquaintance, through Facebook. We can upload photos immediately, and our former principal and his family, now living in Italy, can live the moment with us. We can Google the earth, and zoom in close enough to wave to our neighbors across the country! For those of us who may have dreamed of becoming authors, we can start writing our thoughts on a public blog and see if they resonate with others.
Technology is a wonderful gift! And while I warm up to each new venture a little hesitantly, I do eventually find someone who will help me learn the intricacies of using it; and I feel more connected to my culture, the 21st century, and to education in general. But quite honestly, I still love sitting in my old gold, stuffed chair, with my first graders gathered close, leaning in to hear what happens next to Jorge el curioso (Curious George) as he stumbles into one more new adventure. I love looking into their eyes, I love seeing the surprise, laughter, and tenderness on their faces as they feel the moment with me. I'm reading to these impressionable 6 &7 year olds. I have their undivided attention. And I'm using a book. I don't know if I'll ever be able to totally give up my books for technology. Hopefully, they'll be able to co-exist amicably in my world.
~Sheryl René
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Happy hunting!
It's getting close to that time of year again. Parent-teacher conferences are looming, grade cards are being printed, we're just about over the hump of Winter, and pretty soon you'll start seeing postings for teaching positions, as well as "kindergarten round-up" meetings, all over the internet. Whether you are in a program that is still growing, adding a new grade level each year, or are in a seasoned Immersion program, I'm pretty sure you'll need someone new this year. How will we find each other?
Some of our districts are accustomed to being "the best" and consequently have teachers clamoring to get their resumes in first. Other districts struggle to woo teachers into their district. Either way, I find that with each passing year, the funnel of applicants gets narrower. In Michigan it didn't help that the State decided to eliminate the elementary certification with a foreign language major. Really? What were they thinking? We have seen a groundswell of Immersion programs in West Michigan, and yet the State discouraged students from pursuing these teaching opportunities. In order to teach in our schools now, they will need double majors: elementary education and Spanish.
If you're a competent language teacher looking for a job, or if you're a concerned administrator looking for a new teacher to complement your Immersion program, how will we find each other? Teachers, get your name out there! Talk to EVERYONE you know! I know it's hard today to get "face time" with HR people; most schools now require that you apply online first. But call and ask to visit our schools! Talk to other teachers you know who are in an Immersion program. Tell your friends, your mom's friends, your doctor, your counselor, your pastor, your bus driver....get the word out! Let everyone know you'd love to teach in an Immersion program! If you're still looking for a school in which to do your student teaching, request an Immersion program!
If you're an administrator, and you KNOW you're going to need a new teacher in your Immersion program, start talking to colleges now. Don't limit your calls to in-state colleges. Contact heads of language departments and education departments at the colleges to let them know exactly what kind of teacher you're looking for. Give yourself some breathing room--don't wait till the last minute to start the interview process. The funnel is smaller for Immersion, so make your contacts before your competitor does. It is such an encouragement to your current staff to see your proactive search to complete and enhance your teaching team.
If you're a seasoned teacher, please offer your services to a student teacher. Let them come to your classroom, learn from you, work out their bugs, spread their wings, and catch the Immersion fever! I try to encourage High School students who are preparing to enter college to consider Immersion education. Hey, I even encourage my first graders to consider being a teacher one day! I figure it's never too early to start recruiting!
Happy hunting, everyone! I look forward to meeting our new 7th grade Immersion teacher, and my new student teacher! ¡Bienvenidos!
~Sheryl René
Some of our districts are accustomed to being "the best" and consequently have teachers clamoring to get their resumes in first. Other districts struggle to woo teachers into their district. Either way, I find that with each passing year, the funnel of applicants gets narrower. In Michigan it didn't help that the State decided to eliminate the elementary certification with a foreign language major. Really? What were they thinking? We have seen a groundswell of Immersion programs in West Michigan, and yet the State discouraged students from pursuing these teaching opportunities. In order to teach in our schools now, they will need double majors: elementary education and Spanish.
If you're a competent language teacher looking for a job, or if you're a concerned administrator looking for a new teacher to complement your Immersion program, how will we find each other? Teachers, get your name out there! Talk to EVERYONE you know! I know it's hard today to get "face time" with HR people; most schools now require that you apply online first. But call and ask to visit our schools! Talk to other teachers you know who are in an Immersion program. Tell your friends, your mom's friends, your doctor, your counselor, your pastor, your bus driver....get the word out! Let everyone know you'd love to teach in an Immersion program! If you're still looking for a school in which to do your student teaching, request an Immersion program!
If you're an administrator, and you KNOW you're going to need a new teacher in your Immersion program, start talking to colleges now. Don't limit your calls to in-state colleges. Contact heads of language departments and education departments at the colleges to let them know exactly what kind of teacher you're looking for. Give yourself some breathing room--don't wait till the last minute to start the interview process. The funnel is smaller for Immersion, so make your contacts before your competitor does. It is such an encouragement to your current staff to see your proactive search to complete and enhance your teaching team.
If you're a seasoned teacher, please offer your services to a student teacher. Let them come to your classroom, learn from you, work out their bugs, spread their wings, and catch the Immersion fever! I try to encourage High School students who are preparing to enter college to consider Immersion education. Hey, I even encourage my first graders to consider being a teacher one day! I figure it's never too early to start recruiting!
Happy hunting, everyone! I look forward to meeting our new 7th grade Immersion teacher, and my new student teacher! ¡Bienvenidos!
~Sheryl René
Friday, February 24, 2012
Lessons from the ditch
It's a snowy, blowy day in GR, but I'm trying to not be wimpy, and show up for my dental appointment anyway. However, as I follow the curve on the entry ramp to I-131, my car goes into a spin and off the road... pluf! No injury to me or the car, just immobilized in a ditch filled with snow. In spite of my mature years I tend to rely on my husband for a lot of help, but I decided, "no, I'm calling AAA before I ever let my husband know that I'm in a ditch." I called AAA and they were very polite, efficient, and let me know it would be about an hour before the local tow truck could get to me. OK, good thing I brought along a book to read.
What do you do when you're stuck? There was no point in getting out of the car; I was warmer staying inside the car. Thankfully the tank was full of gas, so I had no fear of running out of gas. I admit, after calling AAA, I did call my husband. He advised me to keep the car engine running if I could see the smoke from the exhaust (just making sure that the exhaust pipe was not blocked). I felt much better just knowing that the one who loves me the most, was well aware of my situation, and praying for my safe "rescue".
It wasn't long before a tow truck came. He stopped, got out of the truck & came to offer his services, but unfortunately he wasn't the AAA representative, so after making sure I was ok, he went on his way. A few minutes later a fire engine and ambulance arrived with lights flashing. As the fireman got out of his truck, I lowered the window & let him know I was alright. He looked over the car inside & out, making sure I wasn't hurt. I let him know that I hadn't dialed 911, to which he replied, "No, but a concerned passerby did." Later a woman in a mini-van stopped, lowered her window and asked if I needed help (probably knowing all the time about the only thing she could have done would be to make a phone call or just hold my hand). She too left when I let her know I was fine & just waiting for AAA to show up.
Then a policeman arrived. He got out of his car, politely asked about me first, then just as politely asked to see my car registration. I told him I had no idea what happened. He quickly responded, "I do. You were driving too fast." "Apparently" I said, "but I didn't think I had been driving too fast." He, too, went on his way once he had confirmed my registration, and found that I had everything under control.
My total wait time was actually under the estimated hour, during which I read and reassured those who stopped that I was just fine. When the AAA driver arrived, he hooked up my car to his towing engine, gave me some simple but necessary instructions, and then skillfully pulled the car (& me) out of the ditch. Even as strong as his engine was, there was a small "hitch" when the snow piled up around the hook, which actually caused it to fall off. But my skilled AAA driver also knew how to corrrect this problem & rehooked the cable to the car to finish off the tow. As he unhooked the cable, he said to me "You were my best rescue today! It's so much easier when the stranded driver can handle the car."
As an immersion teacher I get stumped or "stranded" sometimes. I need to use all the resources that I've been given (books, training, experience, intuition), but many times I still need to call in other help. I frequently have many people who want to help, people who are gifted, generous, kind; but they're not always the people I need at that time. I sometimes have to wait for, or look for just the right person to respond to my need. Sometimes the people who come to help me are the ones who just hold up the mirror to help me see what I really need or am really doing. They're not being critical, they're just telling me the obvious, what they really see happening. What a gift that is! I often wish I could "watch myself" in action. Either what I'm doing is not effective, or what I'm doing is not what I think I'm doing, and therefore still not effective. What a joy it is when I find the person who has just the right answer/tip/resource to help me with the issue at hand! I return to my classroom so excited about trying out this new idea and anticipating how my students will respond!
I was so relieved when the AAA driver was respectful and helpful, without making me feel stupid for ending up in a ditch. And that final message "you were my best rescue all day" so reminds me how important it is to let my kids know how each and every one of them is so special and important to me. Please forgive me for those days when I forget to tell you or show you that. You are very special and important to me! ¡TQM!
Sheryl René
What do you do when you're stuck? There was no point in getting out of the car; I was warmer staying inside the car. Thankfully the tank was full of gas, so I had no fear of running out of gas. I admit, after calling AAA, I did call my husband. He advised me to keep the car engine running if I could see the smoke from the exhaust (just making sure that the exhaust pipe was not blocked). I felt much better just knowing that the one who loves me the most, was well aware of my situation, and praying for my safe "rescue".
It wasn't long before a tow truck came. He stopped, got out of the truck & came to offer his services, but unfortunately he wasn't the AAA representative, so after making sure I was ok, he went on his way. A few minutes later a fire engine and ambulance arrived with lights flashing. As the fireman got out of his truck, I lowered the window & let him know I was alright. He looked over the car inside & out, making sure I wasn't hurt. I let him know that I hadn't dialed 911, to which he replied, "No, but a concerned passerby did." Later a woman in a mini-van stopped, lowered her window and asked if I needed help (probably knowing all the time about the only thing she could have done would be to make a phone call or just hold my hand). She too left when I let her know I was fine & just waiting for AAA to show up.
Then a policeman arrived. He got out of his car, politely asked about me first, then just as politely asked to see my car registration. I told him I had no idea what happened. He quickly responded, "I do. You were driving too fast." "Apparently" I said, "but I didn't think I had been driving too fast." He, too, went on his way once he had confirmed my registration, and found that I had everything under control.
My total wait time was actually under the estimated hour, during which I read and reassured those who stopped that I was just fine. When the AAA driver arrived, he hooked up my car to his towing engine, gave me some simple but necessary instructions, and then skillfully pulled the car (& me) out of the ditch. Even as strong as his engine was, there was a small "hitch" when the snow piled up around the hook, which actually caused it to fall off. But my skilled AAA driver also knew how to corrrect this problem & rehooked the cable to the car to finish off the tow. As he unhooked the cable, he said to me "You were my best rescue today! It's so much easier when the stranded driver can handle the car."
As an immersion teacher I get stumped or "stranded" sometimes. I need to use all the resources that I've been given (books, training, experience, intuition), but many times I still need to call in other help. I frequently have many people who want to help, people who are gifted, generous, kind; but they're not always the people I need at that time. I sometimes have to wait for, or look for just the right person to respond to my need. Sometimes the people who come to help me are the ones who just hold up the mirror to help me see what I really need or am really doing. They're not being critical, they're just telling me the obvious, what they really see happening. What a gift that is! I often wish I could "watch myself" in action. Either what I'm doing is not effective, or what I'm doing is not what I think I'm doing, and therefore still not effective. What a joy it is when I find the person who has just the right answer/tip/resource to help me with the issue at hand! I return to my classroom so excited about trying out this new idea and anticipating how my students will respond!
I was so relieved when the AAA driver was respectful and helpful, without making me feel stupid for ending up in a ditch. And that final message "you were my best rescue all day" so reminds me how important it is to let my kids know how each and every one of them is so special and important to me. Please forgive me for those days when I forget to tell you or show you that. You are very special and important to me! ¡TQM!
Sheryl René
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)