i say i failed in some cases - because all teachers do fail, you never see 100% success rate. there will always be that student you could not reach, especially when you are working with kids who have little hope. that does not stop me from trying...
hopefully a child meets at least a handful of teachers they look up to. i connect with some students and they have complimented me for the way i explain things to them. i am patient, and i want all of them to learn.
but some of them go home and everything i said gets erased. sometimes because i am white, sometimes because i am young, sometimes because i am lame to them...whatever the reason some students i can not reach. but i long for those students i can reach. i try to leave a lasting impression - and students still call me to see how i am doing.
i guess despite my failures - i focus on my successes typically.
by the time they get to high school they have received a very harsh lesson in survival. they amaze me with their wisdom at such a young age. i love to just listen to them talk to me about their lives. i genuinely care for everyone i meet until they prove me otherwise, and even then i am very quick to forgive.
i meant no disrespect when i said i was experienced on this subject, i simply meant to say "i feel ya" - and all of the things you discuss are what every teacher is taught or learns very quickly if they work in some of the places i have worked.
i did not cut and paste anything for you, unless i put it in quotes and gave a link to a citation. it is how i do things.
generational poverty is not a chain or a clip - but it is an obstacle. i honestly feel great people are not born - they are made. they have gone through more and know strength many people could never know.
i agree with you jeff. i enjoy reading what you have to say.