His name is Seth. He is an internmate here at HISD with me. I admire this guy because he does a great job in "keeping it real". We can debate issues, and then laughs when we disagree. There have been long lunches and slow afternoons that we tend to pick up some topics such as politics, religion, public schooling, homosexuality. You name it, we have talked about it. Although Seth is a bit more liberal than me, we agree on a variety of things.
Today we talked about alternative schools. For those of you who don't know, when a student comits a pretty bad offense (bring a weapon to school, multiple suspensions, drug use), they can be temporarily "expelled" to an alternative school. The school is military style, where students walk with their hands behind their back, eat alone, and can't talk to peers during class time. Sounds great, right? Well, not really. Research has shown over and over and over and over again (yes! that many times) that putting kids with behavior problems together in a school makes them worse not better. So why do schools have this faulty system? Well for one, principals get these kids out of their school. (Out of sight, out of mind. Second, kids have to have "consequences" for bad behavior. Okay. So principals want to shed some responsibility and the way to do this is tough love. The state of Texas has a rule right now that if you go to juvenile detention 3 times, you get sent to boot camp for 3 months. sigh. Dear Texas, stop using my tax dollars for "preventing crime" when its actually making it worse. Seth and I talked about this over lunch and agreed there has to be a better way. Some people have suggested turning schools into business andhanding out vouchers. Well, if kids keep on getting kicked out, then we come back to the same problem.
If the US is moving towards empirically supported interventions, why hasn't this changed? Oh well. I guess this is why I still have a job :)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A bit of sarcasm
Alrighty guys and gals, I have changed camps. I voted for Hillary in the Texas Primaries. I have switched my affiliation to Osama, I mean Obama.
After the debate yesterday....I think Obama would be the best Democratic Nominee. I think that with big names behind him like Rev. Wright and Wiliam Ayers he is easily the next one to beat McCain come November....not to mention his patriotic wife.
So...Democrats...do me a favor...vote Obama...
and I will see YOU in November!
After the debate yesterday....I think Obama would be the best Democratic Nominee. I think that with big names behind him like Rev. Wright and Wiliam Ayers he is easily the next one to beat McCain come November....not to mention his patriotic wife.
So...Democrats...do me a favor...vote Obama...
and I will see YOU in November!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
rolling up the sleeves
I had been putting off posting because of time, lack of content, and just plain laziness I guess. Then today happened. Amidst the counseling, parenting classes, individual crisis intervention and consultation, it is easy to forget the severity of real life problems in people's lives. When you hear the stories over and over again, they all melt into a realization of the unfortunate cruelties of our world and you learn to go home and put it behind you. This happens pretty naturally. It allows you to keep an empathetic ear and keep focus on how to put into practice all the skills we have learned. There are some stories that are a bit harder to hear than others.
Today I had the unfortunate event of going to a school where a very well known student had passed away unexpectedly at the tender age of 14. Had never been sick. Just slipped away from this world into His arms. No warning signs. No chance to say goodbye.
When I arrived at the school, I quickly got to work. My adrenaline was in full gear as the uncontrollable and hysterical tears came from teachers and friends. I did everything I was taught - to help be an extra shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen during these difficult times. I remembered thinking halfway through the day how I had held up for so long without even one knot in my throat when I usually can't fight the tears back during an Onstar commercial. But I kept on keeping on. I had one bottled water and no food but I wasn't thirsty nor hungry. Why did this happen? Why this student? Why now? How are we supposed to continue going to class when their seat is empty? How do I make myself feel better? How am I supposed to say I am sorry about our last fight? These questions rang in my ears all day.
When I finally dismissed the last student back to class and gathered my things, I suddenly felt a huge weight on my shoulders. I was exhausted. I walked to my car, called my husband and told him I had a rough day and would really appreciate lunch with my best friend. As I drove to lunch, my adrenaline ran out and my humanity came back. I embraced it. I let the tears fall and my prayers go up for this student and their family. I ate with my husband and we talked about death and what it means and how there are some feelings that I wish no child would have to go through until their hearts and souls were a bit stronger. I drove home and as I walked into my lonely apartment, I felt a sense of relief. Relieved because I felt human again. My heart had not hardened. I was still a sensitive soul who would tear up at a sad movie. I was just blessed with the grace of knowing how to roll up my sleeves and put the hearts of others at ease, hearts who had been broken so ubruptly and violently. My job was to provide the needle and thread so they could slowly but surely sew it back together and learn to live with the newly formed scar that would be left. There was no room for me to let my emotions surface. So they didn't. At least not until my job was over.
Today I had the unfortunate event of going to a school where a very well known student had passed away unexpectedly at the tender age of 14. Had never been sick. Just slipped away from this world into His arms. No warning signs. No chance to say goodbye.
When I arrived at the school, I quickly got to work. My adrenaline was in full gear as the uncontrollable and hysterical tears came from teachers and friends. I did everything I was taught - to help be an extra shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen during these difficult times. I remembered thinking halfway through the day how I had held up for so long without even one knot in my throat when I usually can't fight the tears back during an Onstar commercial. But I kept on keeping on. I had one bottled water and no food but I wasn't thirsty nor hungry. Why did this happen? Why this student? Why now? How are we supposed to continue going to class when their seat is empty? How do I make myself feel better? How am I supposed to say I am sorry about our last fight? These questions rang in my ears all day.
When I finally dismissed the last student back to class and gathered my things, I suddenly felt a huge weight on my shoulders. I was exhausted. I walked to my car, called my husband and told him I had a rough day and would really appreciate lunch with my best friend. As I drove to lunch, my adrenaline ran out and my humanity came back. I embraced it. I let the tears fall and my prayers go up for this student and their family. I ate with my husband and we talked about death and what it means and how there are some feelings that I wish no child would have to go through until their hearts and souls were a bit stronger. I drove home and as I walked into my lonely apartment, I felt a sense of relief. Relieved because I felt human again. My heart had not hardened. I was still a sensitive soul who would tear up at a sad movie. I was just blessed with the grace of knowing how to roll up my sleeves and put the hearts of others at ease, hearts who had been broken so ubruptly and violently. My job was to provide the needle and thread so they could slowly but surely sew it back together and learn to live with the newly formed scar that would be left. There was no room for me to let my emotions surface. So they didn't. At least not until my job was over.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
After a week of 24 hr time with my hubby...
the first couple of days back at work without each other were tough...
so tough that I received this endearing text message at about 3:25pm on Monday from my spouse:
I am going through Clarissa withdrawal :_(
That makes two of us, Love.
so tough that I received this endearing text message at about 3:25pm on Monday from my spouse:
I am going through Clarissa withdrawal :_(
That makes two of us, Love.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Back to reality
This past week the Kuhns were in New Orleans for the first time. I had the chance to walk on Bourbon Street after the parade with some friends which was fun. Jesse met up with me on Wednesday and it was great. I didn't think I would like New Orleans. I am not sure why, but I had the feeling I was not going to enjoy my time spent there. I was pleasantly surprised. The food was great, the city, beautiful and Katrina didn't leave much of a trace (as far as downtown goes). The art, buildings, and music were incredible. We visited St. Louis Cathedral/Basilica which was beautiful. I wouldn't mind visiting the city again because we didn't have much time to tour. If anyone ever has a trip there, I definitely recommend eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde. I introduced Jesse to penny slots which I think he enjoyed. ;) The bestest part of the whole trip was that I got to spend 4 wondrous days with my husband. This was our first trip alone since our honeymoon. Although we did meet some friends there, we spend lots of time alone which was incredible. Now...its back to reality...
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
SUPERtuesday
"If this Tuesday is “super” because we can choose a president, then every day is “supreme” because we can always choose to love and be loved, to build a life on solid rock."
Father Jonthan Morris
Fox News
Father Jonthan Morris
Fox News
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