BACK IN MIAMI

As the plane took off over the Chicago lights to take me back to Miami, reflections of the weekend and life came to mind, as many memories of friends are families continued to pop up in my mind. Flying over a huge city like Chicago or Miami at night is such a beautiful sight. When a plane can leave a city like Chicago at night, filled with ice, fog and snow in the horizon, the lights glow like little halos. Within three shorts hours, you look out the window and see the lights that look similar, only no clouds and no fog, yet, a reflection of the moon in the ocean, highlighted by the bright neon lights of the downtown buildings, making them glow. Did I mention the temperature had raised about 60 degrees in this short trip? Our world is simply amazing!

While I road on the plane, I got out my computer and started writing out the final that I was to give my class on Monday. As I looked through all the spelling words that we had throughout the semester, little conversations came to mind that I had with my students over the past semester, explaining what each word meant. Looking at their writing has really made me appreciate the differences in people and in cultures. While we in Kansas hear about people in the hood or the ghetto, we imagine them having a different language. Not one that is different, but a different slang to our words in English. Words are put in different order in sentences here in Miami, and this is what I have learned that makes their language so different. Everyone not in this subculture believes that words are changed up, or pronounced differently, however this doesn’t seem to be so. I think back to coming in with what most people would call “proper English” and trying to teach them in this style. And to be honest, it hasn’t seemed to work. I was not reaching them when trying to define the spelling words. They weren’t understanding, and have never heard them used in the proper way. Listening to the other teachers, they even use it wrong. Why? Because we ARE no longer in Kansas Toto! I hade to come to the realization that while we change environments, from Harper to Miami, different things change. I was going to have to change, to make an effect on these kids, and learn to talk a bit like them. Then and only then were they going to learn. I had to learn a new sentence structure. Not one that is written down and understandable, but one you just have to know and adapt to. Once I started this, teaching these spelling words deemed to be much easier for me. I could relate these words’ definitions to each of these boys, helping them know how to use them. Its funny how your thoughts wonder like this, but I am glad they do!