Open for business for educators!

I woke up this morning and found the right resource for the right time when I turned on the television. The Morning Show, on WJXT-TV, featured a story about a website called TeachersPayTeachers.com. It has been the answer to my question about how educators can network with other educators to share their lessons and to supplement their income. I have launched my participation in this new venture by including materials that connect art and history. If you teach art or history, please feel free to visit the below link and buy my work!

Big brother is waiting...

This Saturday evening was much more loaded with anticipation for an only child who attended kindergarten down the block and lived alone with two loving parents. His father was out to sea and his grandmother flew down from Ohio. Having moved from his birth state of California, Florida was a stable new home for him and there were no major upheavals in his early life save the passing of his maternal grandmother. As his own mother grew in size and great with child, he was puzzled by this impending arrival. He was astonished that there was somebody growing inside this magical oven. He rubbed his mother's tummy in hope of feeling a kick or a nudge from the newest Meeks. The day came on a Monday when his mother was spirited away to hospital and he pondered the scene of the delivery. He was going to be a big brother. He was going to be an elder in his own home with lessons and joys to share with this bright, new sibling. The brand new girl came into the house much smaller than I had anticipated, as I announced to my mother and grandmother that she was too small to play with yet! New life entered my home and, suddenly my home became our home. My parents became our parents. My world became our world. Ashlee Ja'Near Meeks meant an expansion in my world and growth in my spirit. Thirty-three years later, I think back to that weekend of waiting. Thirty-three years later, I remember the door opening. Thirty-three years later, I am still a boy who is proud to be a big brother. I love you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Starving for knowledge

I cannot teach on an empty stomach. I already know the consequences of allowing low blood sugar to dictate how the rest of my day is going to go because I have often sacrificed breakfast in the triage of having a quick morning routine. We know of that devil's bargain that we make when we wake up after the snooze was activated for the ninth time - I will jump in the shower, shave my stubble and get dressed on the way to the car (not literally!). Breakfast is the first of the things that I chose to omit because a smelly teacher was ostensibly much more noticeable than a hungry teacher. Well, thanks to decreased functioning and a crankier outlook on the day, I realize that breakfast can have as much an impact on my work as five o'clock shadow. Both problems make me appear run down even before the clock strikes twelve. Conversely, we are very aware when we notice that a student has skipped showers. The smell can especially pungent in a middle or high school setting. All of the Axe deodorant in the free world cannot mask a deficiency in bathing. When students arrive in the classroom after missing breakfast, however, the results are a lot more subtle. Stomachs may not growl and teachers may not know the warning signs of a student who has a challenge with nutrition at home. I was made aware of this, as I posted on my school blog, when a student came to class with what seemed to be a giant monkey on her back. She could not focus on her work and I was worried about what was troubling her. She forthrightly told me that she did not have anything to eat that morning as her cupboard was bare. I made a deal with her that I would bring breakfast foods so she could ask for help when she needed it. Upon further research (http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/08/25/where-americas-children-are-going-hungry/), I discovered that over a quarter of Florida's students live with 'Childhood Food Security' and one out of ten Floridians experienced the same issue of having little to nothing to sustain them. If we truly believe in education reform, we must reform the way our children are fed. Private partnerships are necessary to help all public school students to not just feed their minds, but their bodies.

My Anti-Bully Pulpit

In education, it is my most firm belief that we should be the kind of teachers that we would have wanted to have when we were young. It's kind of like the advice that I received when I worked at McDonald's in high school - if I am sure that I would not serve an item to myself, I needed to throw out the bad food. One lesson that I am proud to share with my students is the importance of creating safe and civil schools for all! We all have our experiences with those who sought to bully others. Their aggressive behavior harms the overall academic atmosphere. We cannot learn new ideas when we are more worried about our safety. Traditionally, teachers' and administrators' focus was on minimizing the impact of bullies because it was always assumed that bullying was part of the natural pecking order in schools. Too many students, however, fell through the cracks because of this social Darwinist attitude toward a serious issue that has resulted in far too many student victims lashing out against their bullies or harming themselves. A few years ago, Linda Bishop grew weary of the negative atmosphere that bullying created at my school. This brilliant colleague of mine masterminded and pioneered an anti-bullying program at my school - Mayport Coastal Sciences Middle School. Working in cooperation with the United Way and the Southern Poverty Law Center, Mrs. Bishop showed our community that we can be the change that we want to see in our world. Before soon, the change manifested itself in new policies and legislation around our state and around the nation that have resulted in real progress toward making education the goal for our schools, teachers, students and families to make strides toward learning and to help every child feel welcome at school. I am not naive enough to think that a simple slogan can solve our problems. It is our job as citizens to promote safety and civility by asking our students to communicate with us whenever they feel that they are in danger. No, it is not snitching, it is building an educational system that works for all! John Louis Meeks, Jr. currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida where he teaches social studies at Mayport Middle School. He is a 1998 graduate of the University of North Florida and a veteran of the United States Air Force.