Well, friends.  It has been awhile and for good reason.  In faith I moved to Antioch at the beginning of the month that that is where God wanted me to be and 10 days later I received a job offer at McGavock High School, which I accepted.  I am a teacher!  Thank you Janet for your spiritual insight into my situation.  I had finally come to terms that I was not going to teach this year.  In the statue of full surrender, my Isaac (teaching) was laid upon the altar ready to be sacrificed, but God provided a ram.  This past week was my first week and things are going well.  I am tired but taking it one day at a time.  The assistant principal I report to is awesome and thinks I am doing an awesome job.  The majority of my students are repeaters, which presents some challenges.  I have two very good classes (period 3 and 4), two challenege classes (period 2 and 5), and one nightmare class (period 6).  I've already developed the wrap of being a mean teacher, which I am assured is a good thing.

School is not what it used to be.  Skipping class is normal, walking out of class is commonplace, being rude and mouthy is acceptable, and respect is non-existent.  It is disheartening.  I am having to make threats and make good on them just to make examples out of students, which is not me at all.  I am collecting papers and marking zeroes on them if they talk.  I am having to count them absent and give them zeroes if they refuse to adhere to the seating charts.  They put absolutely no effort into anything you assign them, and they complain about anything and everything.  They complain that they are bored if we aren't doing anything and we are doing something, they complain about that too.  I don't want to fail them but they are leaving me any options.  What is sad is that some of them are seniors and will not graduate. 

Please keep me in your prayers, that God will give me wisdom on how to handle my students, but more importatnly pray for the students.  I can put up with the nonsense, but these kids are lost in every sense of the word.  I can only hope that my "tough love" towards them will break through and that they will see God's love at the heart of it in getting them to grow up.

Catch you later!

~Brooks