February 11, 2011
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The Daily News1 Just saw this on Facebook:"I never want to leave Miss Harrington!""Well I never want to leave Miss Harrington for 100 YEARS!"This is a day I hope not to forget.
2 To me, this is like watching a team that was winning some and losing some all season, and that has suddenly gotten hot going into the stretch.3 Miss Harrington, if you don't know, is my daughter Nicole, who has had a passion for teaching since just about birth. She has worked with smaller children her entire life, teaching dance, babysitting, and all the rest. I can't remember a time that she didn't want to teach.
4 She got hired just before school started this year, and was thrilled to be a full-time kindergarten teacher. I've watched her work morning, noon, and night to make this happen.
5 Like any first-year teacher, she met with a lot of blood, sweat and tears, both good and not so good.
6 She has been tested to the point of tears, but has always managed to get in there and face each day with all of its challenges.
7 And kindergarten kids don't come equipped with a lot of manners. There are many who are delightful, but a few who simply don't know anything about not being obnoxious to the point of absurdity.
8 One or two like that can destroy a class, and it takes a LOT of courage and patience for a new teacher to teach them about respecting others, of not throwing tantrums, and of not physically punching other kids.
9 We've gone on a few rides and exchanged war stories, me as a seasoned veteran (who STILL has tough days) and she as a courageous young teacher who gets pounced on every day by some of these buggers.
10 And of course the discipline challenges coming from a select few often trump the majority of kids, who are good and who want to learn.
11 When a teacher hears things like "Well I never want to leave Miss Harrington for 100 YEARS!" it just about makes up for anything that doesn't work.
12 I have sliding whiteboards in the Cathedral. Yesterday I slid one of the back boards out. It said, "Mr. Harrington is the KOOLEST!" with a smiley face on it.
13 I was having a good day anyway, but I was almost embarrassed, and I erased it instantly. Still, it made me smile.
14 About every two months, my door opens up the last period of the day, and two girls, all ears and braces, yell, "We LOVE you Mr. Harrington!" and then they dash off giggling.
15 It's moments like that that keep us going as teachers. It's moments like that that Miss Harrington will receive more and more as the year starts to wind down.
16 And if I say, "that that" one more time I think I'll shoot myself.
17 Moving on, Part the First: One of my fave former students of all time, Yvonne Lozano has a little boy who is going through a very rough time. Last January, when my Dad was notified that he had bone cancer, Yvonne wrote me this:
Cancer I did not give you the right,
To invade my body and take a bite.
This is my body and with all my might,
I will prevail with one hell of a fight.
To the cancer inside, I will battle and kill.
For that is my body's God given will.
To my cancer, these words I do send.
Your life is short and near the end.
(For Lucy & all those fighting cancer)
J Joens, 10/13/05
I am truly sorry for your Dad...to go thru treatment again. My son is only 3 and his treatments are a way of life for him. He has Leukimia. Hes doing well but there are days that...well you know. Anyway. I found this a while back and it brings a smile to my face when I read it...you truly must be strong in mind body and spirit to fight! Please give your dad a great big hug and let him know I will say a prayer for him every day!
Always
Yvonne Lozano18 Well, the little guy had a relapse, and so we're all praying for him. His name is Giovanni, and he is four. He needs a bone marrow transplant and is hoping that a girl named Tatiana is a match. He's been a fighter his whole life, so prayers help.
19 Yvonne alse asked people to register to donate. You can do this by going to this link: www.marrow.org
20 By doing so, you are not committing to anything, but making yourself available for consultation and possible matching.
21 I thought it important to pass this on to everyone so that we all could be aware of the importance.
22 My cousin's daughter Jacque went through that when she was in her early twenties and was cured, and is now living a full and healthy life. There's tremendous hope out there.
23 To Yvonne, there's hope. We all can relate, even though many of the DN readers don't know you. By raising awareness just a little, it might bring light into your lives.
24 Tell Giovanni that there's a whole world out there supporting him.
25 Moving on, Part the Second: Whew.
26 That was rough.
27 Rough week. Lots of praying. Lots of hope.
28 Speaking of which, pitchers and catchers report on Monday.
29 Valentine's Day.
30 You guys have a good one. I need about twenty more minutes of sleep.
31 Oh, and share a smile with someone today.
32 Hope is all around us.
33 Peace.
~H~
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