Only Boring People Lead Boring Lives!!

I arrived in Dallas and met many of my brothers' friends here on campus. A few hours after meeting them, one friend agreed it was important to do something to keep life interesting!

Temperature in Dallas, TX= around 40*!

An Ode to my Students

Dear Titans, 

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and for 2013, you have stolen second place on my list of thanks. (First place always goes to God's faithfulness toward me, a gal who doesn't deserve it!)

I am thankful for you because you are you. You are all different, with different backgrounds, personalities, interests, families, dreams and motivation; it's perfect!

This year I am most thankful for you because you have shown character beyond any other group I have taught or coached! Friday I spoke with my substitute and he gave you all the highest praise, saying that you were some of the best students with which he has been. I tried to convince him that it wasn't me, rather it was a reflection of your character. 

I do believe it is! You have exemplified what it is to be a great student. How do I know? I have watched you...in my classroom of course- no I'm not a creeper! In my class I have observed students move across the room, without my prompting, to assist another student, encouraging him or her to get the work done and pass! This is phenomenal! I'm not sure you realize it but this is not common for a high school student to take such a role!

I have also seen some thoughtful and creative work turned in this year. State testing demands that students think at a higher level. It's tough. However, I believe that you will be the class that scores the highest so far. You have not shut down when you face the tough questions or challenges in my class, instead, you bravely charge forward and face them head on. It is awesome that you are not afraid to be wrong, and while we have room to be a little more respectful, for the most part your class does a great job at encouraging others to answer even if they are not sure. This is a LIFE skill y'all! That is why I get so excited! To move forward in life, you must have the courage to take a risk, speak up; you must also have the humility to admit and acknowledge when you are wrong, and finally you must use the strength to which you already have access and pick yourself up and press on!

If I'm confident in any Titan, it is you. You who are ready to celebrate each other, you who make wise decisions in class, you who portray great character, and you who make my day brighter. 

I am thankful to have a crew of students who also have a sense of humor. It has been said that "laughter is the best medicine". I believe it. I believe it has made all the difference to me this year. There is no reason we cannot make education interesting and fun, and most of my classes have found a good balance (a couple are still working on it ;)

The absolute greatest piece of thanks I have toward my students goes out to those who have CHANGED! 

It is not an easy thing to change who a person is, and it is even more difficult when that person is yourself! Changing for the better is something few people in the world expect from teenagers. 

I salute you who have sincerely worked at making yourself better. You've adjusted your actions and improved yourself. For some of you that means you started coming to school regularly, no more truancy. Thats HUGE! (And I'm proud of you). For some of you, that means a shift in attitude. I was very proud when a student in my class said, "You don't know how hard it is for me to not cuss you out right now!" Why was I proud? ...because the student DID NOT do it when it would have been easy to spit out a few words! Will I be proud of that in six months? No, because I expect continued improvement, but in that moment, I was very pleased. 

Some of you have been depressed or down for some time (and for legitimate reasons), but you are rising from the ashes, you are choosing life. I see glimpses of light in your eyes and I know you will be okay. You are strong. 

I am also extremely proud of those who have chosen to quit using. In my lifetime I've only been addicted to a few things along the lines of coffee and chocolate; I cannot imagine drugs, especially with the pressure that comes along with it.  Some of you have chosen to jump tracks- you're done, it's over. I admire you because you are choosing what is best for you, even though it may cost relationships, among other things. Man, that's tough. But look at yourself! If you can handle a decision like this and standing firm when people try to pressure you to cave, dang, you have access to the whole world! 

Those who are changing for the good are my heroes and heroines! Remember my video at the beginning of the year? We should BE the change want to see in the world. We don't wait on it, we BECOME it! You are doing that, and as you continue, I pray you will learn to "live life to the fullest, and make a difference along the way"!

There are so many reasons I am thankful for my Titans, too many to count, but I felt it was only proper that my first blog after nearly a year should be on what has impacted me the most, so this is my abbreviated list. 

So here's to you Titans, I raise my glass (of sparkling pear and apple juice) in honor of who you are and who you are becoming. I sincerely hope that who you are in the classroom is a reflection of who you are  becoming in life. 

May God bless you! Thank you for letting me have the privilege of being your English teacher this year!

TiTAN PRiDE!

-Ms. Hatfield

heavy heart meets the flag of surrender

My heart is heavy.

I'm not sure I have what it takes to keep moving forward.

When I finally love, I love deeply. Collectively, my students have won my heart. They are an incredible source of talent, encouragement, joy, HUMOR, and insight.

To be fair and realistic, they also can be, at times, a source of discouragement and negativity which brings about not only a miserable tone amongst themselves, but a deep sorrow in my heart.

And that is just part of the sorrow. Add in...

*sigh*

...add in the students who have had one or both parents die

...then the students who are having to support their families through their 'part-time'  income

...combine these with the burden of students who are homeless. When the people they're with say, "You have to leave", they have nowhere else to go.

...can't forget the students whose lives have already been shredded by gang involvement, directly or indirectly...and that's without the law involved yet.

...then there are those who have had run-ins with the law of which I cannot expound in the least bit, except to say that I want soooo much for my students. An absence from my class is one more day that I question... Is he or she is okay? Will I see him or her again? Will this student return and finish his or her education?


If I didn't care, I could brush all of this off. If I wasn't a person of faith, I could let it go.

But I do care and I am a person of faith. I follow Jesus or I try. He loved with His whole life. I want to, but it feels like its destroying my spirit and my heart. Heartbreak after heartbreak. When will the morning come? When will the sun shine on the struggle?

I wish our community would come together.

I wish adults would be unified for our youth.

I wish... I wish for more. I expect more. I will continue to work for more. I will fight for more. For my students. Until I can no longer fight.

And the first step in this fight, is to surrender the entire fight to Jesus...

but I don't know what to do next.

From my email update and "Utmost"

We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The questions of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.  …It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God. God’s training is for now, not later. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.  (July 28)

…if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him… And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.” As Christians we are not put here for our own purpose at all—we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain [with Him] and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. (August 4) (Emphasis mine)

God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. …because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance—they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes. If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and we recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.” (August 5)