The Day My Life Changed Forever.....

As educators do you ever wonder what your students face before you see them in the morning? Where they slept, who was in their house, did they eat dinner, or worse...If you don't consider these situations and many more, shame on you. What we as educators sometimes forget to remember is that ALL students are not like us and never want to be...

Trust me, I would be amiss if I didn't mention that I never even imagined people/students living such a different life than mine. I grew up in a stable home, two loving parents and I was borderline spoiled (okay, if you ask anyone who knows/knew me, they would say extremely spoiled)! What I never realized, is how blessed I truly was. It took my first "real" job in rural Missouri to realize a world that I had been sheltered from for the first twenty-two years of my life. 

When I first walked into the Hillsboro Alternative School (by school it was on top of the Hillsboro Bus Garage) I can say that I was taken back. I honestly had no clue what I was walking into. I made it halfway into the common meeting room with all of the "at-risk" students (which I didn't even know what at-risk meant at the time) and quickly walked backwards out to take a deep breath...or 10. What I didn't know, is that this day would change my life forever...

To be honest, I was scared...How in the hell could I be scared? At the time I was living in St. Louis City and sharing the back of my apartment building with the local homeless people and my courtyard with the local drunks! These were just kids, right? I could handle a bunch of snotty nosed kids? So I held my head high, put my shoulders back, adjusted my designer pencil skirt, and walking into the room like I had been there a thousand times. After I left I called my mom crying, she told me it was going to be okay, and give a few days and if you are not safe, just quit... and then my dad got on the phone....Words that I will NEVER FORGET!!! If anyone knows my father, he has a way with words!

Me: "Dad, I'm quitting!  Mom said I could!!! (really 22 years old) You don't understand, you have no idea what these kids are like. One of the girls told me she wanted to kick my ass! (side note: this is a story in its own)"

Dad:"Leigh Marie, remember this...YOU ARE A RAGSDALE! Those kids can't get beat you, or scare you....you are tougher than them and they need you! If that doesn't work, I will come up there and straighten them out...

Well, after we got off the phone, I realized that I was there for a reason. A reason bigger than me, I was there to make a difference in their lives. What I didn't realize is how those students would change my life forever! 

With that being said, that group students taught me valuable life lessons that I will never forget, nor take for granted. It completely changed my outlook on life, my educational philosophy, and most importantly ME!  I owe those students a HUGE thank you for opening my eyes and removing the blinders that I had lived with for 22 years of my life. 

I will go deeper in my next blog post about personal experiences with my students, but I felt that some of the background was necessary  before I dove into that topic!

In short: Know your students...every single one! It will make a HUGE difference in their lives, and maybe in yours too!!!

Love and Light

Leigh