A Letter to Teachers From “That Kid”
Dear Teacher,
I’m that kid. The kid who gets under your skin. The first grader who colors on your walls and spits on my table partners. The high school junior who mouths off and smirks from the back row. The child who knows exactly how to push your buttons, and does. Regularly.
I taunt. I terrorize. Sometimes I hit. I destroy. I curse. Rolling my eyes often seems like my favorite thing to do. I talk back. Maybe I’ve even made you cry a few times.
DON’T TAKE MY BEHAVIOR TOWARD YOU PERSONALLY.
I know that doesn’t make any sense, since it’s mostly directed at you. But you know that old saying about having a bad day at work and going home and kicking the dog? Well, you’re the dog.
(I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.)
I really am a good kid deep down. There are so many things I care about. I have skills and strengths that I want to use to help other people. In fact, I secretly want for you to know all these good things about me.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, YOU DON’T GET TO SEE THESE GOOD THINGS.
I am afraid. I am in pain. You know how if you put oil and water in a container together, the oil will float to the top? It’s like my fear and pain are the oil, and all the good things about me are water. Every once in a while, you might shake me up and see just a glimpse of those good things on the surface, but no matter how hard I try, the fear and pain will bubble up and cover everything again. It’s easy to think that the way that I react to fear and pain—the anger, the defiance—is the real me. In fact, I’ve even started to believe it.
The fear and pain I feel is different than what you may think. It’s not always actual physical fear or pain (though sometimes it is). I might be afraid that I’m not worthy of love, since my dad left me and my mom after I was born. I might be afraid that I will grow up to be like my mom, who is an alcoholic and misses all my baseball games. Or I might be in pain because my family and culture say I’m not manly enough since I cry a lot and am not really into sports. I might be in pain because someone who is supposed to love and protect me said something deeply hurtful that I won’t ever forget.
Maybe you look at me and think there’s no excuse for the way I behave. You might think, “This child has a stable family, loving parents, and a secure environment. I know kids with a lot less who behave perfectly fine.”
BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THERE IS ALWAYS MORE THAN WHAT YOU SEE.
What you might not know is that the pressure to be perfect or different than who I am is so intense and crushing that I believe I’m a failure, and I’m too scared to tell anybody that.
Or maybe my home life is fine, but I’m learning a very dangerous message—that I’m inadequate, unlovable, or not worthy of belonging—in some situation outside of home, or inside my own head. Maybe something is going on, or has happened, that nobody, not even my parents, knows about but me, and I do a really good job of faking that I’m happy or that I don’t care.
I know that I’m making things hard for you. I know you don’t deserve it. But I feel like you should know this: Somewhere, on a level I’m not even aware of, I’ve chosen you to behave this way toward because I know you’re a person who can help me.
THIS IS A CRY FOR HELP.
I want the same things everybody else does, but I’m asking for it in the most confusing and unflattering of ways.
I don’t know how to fix all of this (or I would have already). And I don’t think it’s necessarily your responsibility to fix me. But here’s how you can help me.
Start small. I’m fragile, and I’ve been hurt. Because I’ve got so much junk at the surface, maybe don’t try to remove it all at once or ask me to open up right away about my fear and pain.
SHOW ME THAT YOU NOTICE ME—NOT MY BEHAVIOR, BUT SOMETHING ABOUT ME.
Ask me questions.
Don’t give in when I try to rile you up.
Maybe, slowly, I will learn to trust you. Or maybe I will take a long time, and you won’t see any progress in our time together, but your patience and kindness toward me will plant a seed that will sprout many years later.
But please, please, please don’t give up on me.
Love,
That Kid
Staff Shout Outs-Timberwolf "howl"
Ms. Kathy: Ms. Kathy is the glue that holds this school together. She tirelessly works for these kids to give their teachers materials, make sure they have a clean table to eat at, and make sure they stay safe. It isn't always an easy job, but she does it and so much more because she cares. We all love her and appreciate her so much.
Mr. B: Happy Birthday Mr. B! We are very lucky to have you as our principal. Thank you for taking all of my comments and issues seriously and addressing them promptly. I feel that I am supported by you and Ms. Switzler every step of my day. Have an awesome day!
Mrs. Fehrs: Thank you for working so tirelessly to care for our most needy cubs. Big emotions are hard for little people, but you do such a great job of helping them navigate them. I wish my sister had had someone like you to care about her when she was struggling. You would have changed her whole world, like you are doing with our students. We are lucky to have you, especially in difficult weeks like these.
Ms. Mainini: You know why! You are doing an amazing job with your challenging student. One day they will look back and be grateful they had someone who cared as much as you. You juggle so much and make it look effortless!
Ms. Switzler: Thank you for taking our concerns so seriously this week. We want all our students to feel safe, and your actions are helping do that. We are lucky to have you!
Ms. Carrizo: You are simply AMAZING at what you do. You are so dedicated, hardworking, and passionate. You do everything possible and necessary to care for our students and their needs. You go above and beyond the call of duty on a regular basis and our students simply love you. Thank you for choosing Markham as your home. We need you here and are lucky to have you.
Lily: Congratulations on finishing your first year of Induction (BTSA) and you are only 13 school days away from finishing your first year as a LEGIT teacher. I am so proud of you and I am really going to miss you as a partner teacher next year! However, I am glad that you will just be moving up to 6th grade (you are brave) and that I will still see your smiling face every day in the back 40. It has been a pleasure being your mentor, colleague, and friend. Love ya!
Samantha Switzler: For being "all hands on deck" and a "jack of all trades" this week. You were stretched thin but persevered! Thank you for all your support!
Anne Kowalski: Thank you for being such a strong addition to our SpEd team! You make our kids a top priority so that they don't slip through the cracks.
Melissa Mainini: Thank you for always being even-keeled and level-headed, even with the toughest of students. You always go the extra mile and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Keep it up!
All Markham staff: Thank you for your words of congratulations on my retirement. I will miss all of you and your support means the world to me.
The office staff: For dealing with all of our "special friends"
Marcela Arredondo: I want to shout out to Marcela for the awesome job she did of getting her class ready for me to take over this week. Her preparation has made this a dream come true for an old, over the hill teacher. (Michael)
Megan, Rosie, and Mike: We will miss seeing all of your lovely faces around campus! Next year's teachers have big shoes to fill.
Jessica Cano-Sánchez: I would like to thank Jessica for answering all my million and one questions this week as I am trying to fill Marcela's shoes during the last couple weeks of school. (Michael)
Danessa Espinoza: You are an amazing teacher. You put so much love and energy into the students and no matter what things concern you outside of the classroom, it is never brought into the students. They are engaged, learning and enjoying being your student. It is always fun to step into your class and see what you are doing.
Rosie Romo: You are always a joy to work with thank u!
Mon. May 20
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Tues. May 21
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Weds. May 22
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Thurs. May 23
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Fri. May May 24
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3rd Grade Fieldtrip
Book Fair
GLAD Day 2nd Grade
| Book Fair
Potluvk Birthdays May-July
REACCcH Program Meeting @ 3pm
All School Fun Run- Please click to see schedule! |
Book Fair
AR 100 Point Club Trip to Rockin' Jump
Ice Cream Celebration
1st & 6th @ 1:15 pm
2nd & 5th grades @ 1:30 pm
3rd & 4th @ 1:45 pm
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Book Fair
3rd Grade Novel Knowledge (spanish)
Beach Day!
3rd Grade Novel Knowledge @ 1:45pm
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Mon. May 27
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Tues. May 28
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Weds. May 29
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Thurs. May 30
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Fri. May 31
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Memorial Day Holiday
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4th Grade Data Talks!
| Groundbreaking Ceremony @ 8:30am
Loteria and Pizza Day
1st-3rd 9:45-10:15 am
4th- 6th grades 11:05- 11:30 pm In cafeteria
| 200 Point Club Roundtable 8:40-11:15
AR Lunch
CLASS LIST ARE DUE!
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Multicultural Celebration!
Friday, May 31st Movie and Pijama Day – 100 pts.
All grades- 11:20 am- 1:05 pm
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Hello from the PTO!
Fun Run: The Big Day is this Wednesday, May 22. We have sent the run schedule to you via email. Please reach out to your parent volunteers to see if any of them can help mark laps and cheer the kids on while they run. We are also looking for another candidate to be "Edwin" during the run, as this is a big job for just one person. If you know of anyone who may be willing, please let us know.
Our online pledge site is still open, and will be until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. We will continue to take cash and checks until end of the school day on Wednesday. We unfortunately cannot guarantee prizes to anyone who turns in pledges after that date, because the prizes need to be ordered, but we'll do our best. Don't forget: Each class will receive 10% of net profits raised by that class -- so please encourage your students to participate!
On the day of the run, we are encouraging kids to dress as CRAZY as they want -- tutus, wacky hats/socks, etc. But they do need to wear tennis shoes. There will be music, the giant tunnel, a water station and GoGo Squeez packs for each student.
Recycle for Reading: Our Recycling Program has brought over $750 in to our library this year! We will continue to collect recycling until the last day of school, and would like to continue this program next year. Thanks to everyone who is turning in recycling, and a special thanks to everyone for doing their best to keep garbage out of the recycle bins.
Jelly Belly Follow Up: Congratulations to 4th Grade for having the most participation in our Jelly Belly Fundraiser. Unfortunately, participation was very low (only 43 kids in total submitted orders). We have deposited prize money in the amount of $182.70 into the 4th Grade account!
Multicultural Picnic Don't forget! Our Event will be a Potluck/Picnic, on May 31st from 5-8 p.m. We have entertainment scheduled as follows:
5:30 - Markham Choir
6:00 - UC Davis Bhangra Crew
6:30 - Aztec Dancers
7:00 - Jepson Ballet Folklorico
DJ Rene will also be spinning your favorite tunes, and we will have a raffle as well. We encourage people to wear something that celebrates their culture, and we hope to be able to all sit back, relax and celebrate another awesome school year together! Please join us!
Next Board Meeting: Our next Board meeting is May 29th at 6:00 p.m. We will be discuss next year's calendar and fundraising activities, among other things. We'd love to have your ideas on how we can make next school year a success!
Interactive Math Tool- Here is an online tool that might be useful. It lists vertically all the standards so you can scroll through and see how different concepts are articulated through the grade levels and exactly how standards build throughout the grade levels.
MATH PROGRESSION VIDEOS
I encourage all elementary math teachers to check out Graham Fletcher’s website www.gfletchy.com It has great information including performance tasks and progression videos that show where the heart of understanding in certain math strands. From a vertical articulation standpoint it gives great information to educators on depth in certain grade levels.
BETTER LESSON- Science, Math, ELA and more
Visit the website www.betterlesson.com and see the plethora of free lessons in several content areas and grade levels for science (and other subjects too!)
Thank you everyone! For your hard work and dedication in getting your classrooms ready for our students. I know that it takes a lot of time in effort in cleaning, organizing, labeling and planing! WE are grateful and our students are lucky to have you be a part of the Timberwolf Family! 
