is it me?

Am I just tired and run down by the games and politics at the site? The fourth Monday of the new semester has brought a longing for old students who had really good and creative ideas. Students who began work without hesitation, without nagging - WITHOUT WHINING!!! Boy do I miss them all. Was it all just a dream?

The maturity level of the rural student is sometimes comparative to what the middle school urban student is. There is a culture of laziness and apathy here. "Do it for me" - I hate those words. Despicable.

Gossip is king here - no matter what. Truth and kindness are leftovers of the fat to chew. It's so sad how easily people will destroy one another for entertainment - and nobody has anything interesting to say. Sometimes it seems that the passion behind the latest story (created or true) is the only evidence of brainwaves in some students.

Cultivating independent thought and creativity is sometimes tough to do in such acrid soil. I keep watering the dirt, planting the bulbs, turning on the lights, waiting for something to grow.

I'm stubborn, and I don't want to lower my expectations yet again. They are children - but that doesn't mean they're not ready to think for themselves. So, what did I do to motivate the city kids?

I made connections.