There are several factors within my daily life that are supportive including my friends,family, and colleagues. My friends and family are supportive in various ways. I consider my family my silent supporters. While I don't call on them daily or even weekly I know that my family is there rooting me on and supporting me. While my family isn't one to verbalize love and support often they show it through actions which is most meaningful to me. Whether it is helping me with a school task, helping me get to school when my vehicle isn't available or helping me talk through something that is bothering me so that I can come to a conclusion or decision. My friends are my relief from life's challenges. I can count on them to listen to a problem I have and know when to take it seriously and give sound advice or when to turn my "problem" into a joke and help me laugh at my situation. Even when there is not a specific problem I know that when I am with them I will laugh and have a good time. They are just as reliable and dependable as my family. They have shown up to graduations, award ceremonies and to lend a hand in my classroom. The final group are my colleagues. It is no secret (or is it?) that teaching is a challenging and relentless job. I am so thankful to have and currently work with colleagues who are so supportive. I know that I can ask very few things of my grade level teammates that would receive a negative response. They have gone out of their way to help me in my personal, professional and collegiate life. My teammates have even put themselves in a vulnerable position with administration in order to assure that I was not mistakenly penalized. These women have a unique place in my life as they are among a small group of people who truly understand what my daily work life is like and therefore do their best to offer laughs, teasing and smiles to help brighten my day and keep it going in a positive direction.
The benefits of these supports is monumental. I have a slight idea of what it is like to live without these supports. When I left for college I was separated from all of my friends and family and had a hard time making friends, adjusting to a different type of workload and managing my emotions and handling it all. Fortunately, I did have access to tons of technology including a web cam which was a great support in feeling connected to me loved ones however this did not occur on a daily basis. The support of these three groups include their ability to help me keep reality in check, find the positive in every situation and give me the opportunity to talk through events which is personally beneficial to helping me handle a situation. If these supports were gone the most significant change to my life would be a loss of positivity in my life. I would have a very hard time laughing through the pain or finding the silver lining.
For this assignment I chose to imagine the challenge of being a young child of parents who recently immigrated to the country. This is a first person narrative from the perspective of a second grade boy.
Spanish is my first language but I have learned English well enough to make friends and participate in school when I feel confident. My father understands a lot of English but still has some trouble speaking it. My mother does not speak or understand English. I wish that I got to see my dad more. He works many hours and when he gets home he is really tired and usually goes right to bed. He doesn't have time to play with me anymore. Many times I have a really hard time doing my homework. Sometimes I'm not sure what I am supposed to do and my mom can't help me. It makes me so frustrated when I want to do my work but I can't. If my dad was home he might be able to help but he isn't. Sometimes I go to my friend's house who lives in my apartment building and get his help, if he understands the assignment.
I'm glad that I at least have him to go and ask for help. Sometimes we can figure it out together other times we wish Mrs. Hernandez could come home with us. She's really good at helping kids understand the stuff we learn in school. My mom really likes her to because she speaks Spanish and helps my mom understand school stuff. The only bad thing is when I get in trouble at school and Mrs. Hernandez can explain what happened to my mom. On those days it's better that my mom can't speak English and my teacher can't tell her what I did.
I remember last year when I was really having trouble in school and at home. During a conference my mom talked with Mrs. Hernandez about my behavior at home. They talked about how since they were seeing similar behavior at home and school and that it was getting in the way of my learning that I should take some tests. Mrs. Hernandez helped my mom find a doctor to take me to. We found out that I have ADHD which gives me lots of energy and makes it hard to focus on directions or my work. The doctor gave me some medicine and suggestions to help me in school. Ever since then I don't get in trouble that much and math and reading are a lot easier. My mom is much happier too since she isn't always yelling at me which makes me feel better too.
I'm really happy that Mrs. Hernandez is at my school because she has helped me a lot. She tells me that I am smart and a good kid. She always smiles at me and makes me feel like I have to do my best to make her happy and proud of me. If Mrs. Hernandez wasn't at my school I would probably still get in a lot of trouble all the time. I wouldn't be as smart since I can pay attention better in school now, and I probably wouldn't have as many friends since I always got in trouble and my mom wouldn't be so happy or able to understand and tell my teacher things.
