Fearless Flying

School is back in session and the craziness that is September is in full swing. I love my job as a special education teacher for children with extreme behavior needs and mental illnesses... But I watch the system fail them over and over again. Rather than provide a continuum of care of for them that is focused on holistic healing and care for the child and family system, we have a system who responds minimally to a child in crisis. I say system - schools, doctors, therapists, teachers, parents, foster parents, agencies, child welfare workers, etc - these children slide through the cracks in a community that lacks a true understanding of the issues surrounding these beautiful souls. I work on the front lines daily, I watch repeated attempts at helping these children fail - not due to a lack of genuine caring and love, but from the sheer lack of understanding of the demons these individuals fight. I titled this post September Slide because it is a term I learned from my mom years ago in ...

I spend my day navigating crisis after crisis. I put out fires and extinguish embers.  I stoke imaginations and plead with brains to process the plethora of information I throw at them.  I attempt to impress upon my students the importance of caring for others, and making a positive impact upon the world.  I am a mother, and a father. I am the one they choose to hate, and the one they also choose to love.  I am a fighter, I will not give up. I am a believer; I want to watch them succeed.  I am a caregiver for small cuts and products of broken homes.  I walk the line to do what is right for my students while doing what the lawmaker says I must do.  I balance a life full of hope and promise with their life of more hardships that I will ever experience in my lifetime.  I choose my battles, but there are none I won't consider.  I am a Teacher, hear me roar.  I am a Morgan School Phoenix, watch me soar.