i'm starting to turn into a huge baby. i can't even get through an episode of american idol anymore without tearing up multiple times. i already cried about lazaro arbos once when he first auditioned:
but the first week of hollywood sent me over the edge again. this is why:
in my elementary education courses, we hit really hard that our students are students not just subjects. they are people. something lately we've been focusing on in multiple classes is ELL (english language learners) and how to teach them. it is really important to fight the tendency to think they should be in all our lowest levels of instruction because they don't speak fluent english. yes, it's very important to help them learn english as quickly as possible to understand instruction, but no student should be put in special education unless they are really qualified, and a lack of the language just isn't a good enough reason. sadly, this happens a lot. so we hit hard over and over again how to teach in a beneficial way for them to progress quickly and effectively. my heart is so big when i think of these students and how many of them are not given the best opportunities. it is a hard task to conquer, and very intimidating, but it is so important. i know i can make a huge impact in a student's life.
i love having the gospel infused in all my classes. these are God's children sent to earth to families, and during the day, their guardians are their teachers. God loves them all the same, and he knows their great potential, so if i'm living my life right, i'll follow his example.
so, back to american idol...
during lazaro arbos' hollywood group night, his partners struggled having him in their group. because he grew up in cuba, he wasn't familiar with much of the music, and he felt uncomfortable learning new lyrics with a speech impediment. he was definitely the odd one out among three white guys with their hearts set on the beach boys. poor lazaro! but it gets worse, the guys felt like lazaro was holding them back because they had to work so hard on helping him learn the music. they just kept giving him simple parts and stopped trusting him with anything at all. at one point, when lazaro interviewed he said, "sometimes when people have a hard time communicating, other people think they're stupid." (or something to that effect, and i can't find a clip of that yet). he had tears in his eyes, and the frustration was evident in his whole body. my heart broke for him yet again because i know what he knows: just because someone struggles speaking or communicating, does not mean they're dumb or less intelligent.
my eyes and thoughts opened again to the cruel world we live in. people are selfish and naive towards their brothers and sisters. i'm not saying i'm perfect at judging others righteously, i'm just saying i know it's an important thing to work on. love others as i have loved you. if my heavenly father gave up on me so easily, and so quickly dismissed the inner thoughts of my heart that i couldn't express perfectly, i can't imagine the anguish i'd find myself in. i left that american idol episode with a determination to try a little harder to be a littler better at being Christlike. especially in my role as a teacher in dealing with my students.
and it's pretty obvious to me already, i know who i'm voting for this season!
No comments:
Post a Comment