I've been really bad at updating this blog lately. Shame on me! But the reality of it is that there hasn't been too much to blog about. Nothing I'd want to read about anyway.
What's on my mind is what happens to my students outside of my classroom. I'm sure for many of them, life is just peachy keen. Oh to be a kid again! But for some, life's kind of shitty. To be fair, I don't know what goes on at home. Sometimes though, I get a little snippet of their life & really feel for these kids.
I recently became aware of a student of mine who's severely depressed. So much so, that she's already tried to hurt herself. I had no clue. In class, her behavior has been the same. She's always been polite, funny & talkative and still is. She's a good kid.
A few years ago, another student's mom died of cancer. She had been battling her disease for over a year & eventually lost. That entire time, I had no idea her mom was sick. The girl never let on that anything was out of the ordinary. After her death, the girl took on the role of mother for her younger siblings. What a huge responsibility for a teenager.
Everytime I hear of a situation like this, it makes me wonder what else is going on that I don't know about? Is there anything I can do besides allowing them to let dance class be their outlet?
I'm glad the student who's depressed is now getting the help she needs. The other student (who's mom died) is in college now & is a lovely young lady. It's heartbreaking to come across these situations, but from my experience they come out stronger.
