A Rant

So often, when I tell people that I teach in a Spanish immersion school, they think that is awesome and cool! When they ask where it is and I tell them- one of Ohio's larger inner-city districts- they react with shock and pity, and say that they feel so sorry for me working with the "crazy" kids, "monsters" and "mini gangsters."

Really, if it weren't for the fact that I claim to be a follower of Jesus, who said that punching people in the face was bad, I would probably get in a lot of fights.

So today, I thought that I would post some of my favorite things about my kids, my "poor inner city kids." The ones I love more than any other humans on the planet.

1. My kids are SWEET. If you want to feel good about yourself, come to my classroom. I get hugged 100 times a day, someone is always holding my hand, and I am made to feel like Picasso every time a draw a stick-figure-horse on the board. 
2. My kids are compassionate. Yes, they are kids and they have their mean moments, but then they go out of their way to make sure that our friend who has special needs is ok when the fire alarm goes off. They surround kids from other classes on the playground when those kids call said friend with special needs the R word. They worry when one of their classmates is crying. They watch out for each other and for me. When I chopped some of my thumb off and came to class with my hand wrapped up and surgical glued together, my baby people went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that I did not have to use my hand (they wrote for me, opened things, closed things, and picked things up) and watched my thumb carefully to make sure it didn't bleed anymore. Compassionate.
3. My kids are smart. Lets face it, people, America stinks at learning languages, but all of my kids are bilingual! Yes, half of my kids speak Spanish at home, but they are learning English at school. The other half speak English at home and are learning Spanish at school. All of them can read, write, speak, and understand in BOTH languages. That's more than many white, middle class people can do! 
4. My kids work hard. Many of them come from difficult home lives, and they have to work harder than your average middle class kid to make good grades. They do their homework without help and they study alone. They may be in the care of their older siblings, or be caring for their younger siblings, but they make the best of what they have and they excel in spite of it. They'll all grow up to be presidents and doctors and architects and inventors. They'll be your boss someday. Just saying.
5. My kids are the best, most loving, most adorable, most INCREDIBLE people that I know. They make me laugh, they amaze me at every turn, and there are no other people in the world that I would rather spend my days with! I miss them during the summer and over breaks. I love getting to be a part of their lives. I am the luckiest teacher in the world!

SO, people of the world, the next time you scorn my baby people, first know that it is taking every ounce of restraint that I own to keep me from screaming and/or slapping you. Second, know that some day, those "poor inner city kids" are going to be doing your open heart surgery, managing your finances, and designing the homes that you live in.

I'm not saying that my kids are better than any other kids, I'm just saying that they're not worse.