(I bet he knows how many stripes are on the flag.)

Questions from students I refuse to answer.

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*How many stripes does the American flag have?

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*Does my butt look good?

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*How old are you miss? 20? 19?

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* What are a type of people other than Americans?

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* Why does your class go so slow? (rude)

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*Can we nap today?

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* How many questions is on this quiz?

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*Why do we have to do this?

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The final question, I HATE answering because no matter how much fun I try to make something the students complain and whine. So, it's sad to say, but lately I have not been putting much effort into making my lessons.

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A question that I should probably answer for my self...

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Why should I put effort into things that no one will appreciate?

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I think that's called integrity. I need to jump back on that boat, and get out of this sea of lazziness and irritation. I have a job to do, and I have to just do it (like Nike has said so many, many times).

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Which leads me to another thought... I really love my students and I show them all kinds of mercy. My name could have been Mercy, I've been so merciful. But my pastor last night said something that really makes me say "hmmm."

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He said so many people today have confused Love with Human Mercy. We say we love someone so we give them soo many chances. But is that love or mercy? Isn't real love sometimes being tough? Doesn't real Love sometimes hurt? Not physically but maybe pride? or freedom? or grades? maybe even your feelings for a little bit until you realize what it is?

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The church shows mercy through saying everything is ok. People are showing mercy when they lie to save your feelings. If someone really loves you, they'll tell the truth.

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Do I really Love my students if I'm willing to let them get off the hook? Am I truly creating and shaping good citizens like my resume says is my mission?

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Have our veterans fought wars in order for our future leaders to ask these questions? Is this why our soldiers Love our nation? Is our nation showing Love to our future by socially passing them through school? Are we educators showing love by passing a student "because they tried really hard?"

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Don't get me wrong, I understand that not everyone is going to go to college, but isn't the goal of, at least our district, to shape and mold contributing citizens to society? Should not we direct our students to other areas of expertise? We need construction workers with know how. We need people to run our restuarants. We also need teachers, lawyers, doctors, and other academic minded career people.

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No, I'm not saying that school subjects are unimportant, that is completely the opposite of what I'm saying. I'm saying that we need to insure our students have the skills to manage in life. I'm saying that before we move them to the fourth grade, they should know how to use a ruler. Before the students gets to highschoo, the students should know how to read both digital AND analogue clocks. Students should know how to do simple math problems. They should know how to use fractions. Students should know how many stripes are on our flag. They should know what those stripes stand for. They should not to end a sentence with a preposition like I just did. They should know that an essay and an outline are NOT the same thing. They should know that "they're, their, and there" can NOT be used interchangeably. They should know how to use proper English not just the the text jargon they use daily.

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NO, I am not denying that this is the culture they are being raised in. I am not denying that we should support differences in culture and religion. I am simply saying that if we truly LOVED our students, and LOVED our future leaders, we would ALL (not just educators and politicians, but parents, grandparents, friends, leaders, EVERYONE) take a little more notice of the fact that the next generation is missing some knowledge. We would ALL check ourselves. Are we loving them? or are we just showing them MERCY?

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Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, said "I touch the future. I teach."

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"Love is to will and to act to the highest good of the other."

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As teachers, we may touch the future, but do we LOVE our future?

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