Dealing With the Loss of a Student

     My students get ripped away from me without a chance of saying, Good-bye."  The last student that I liked had his jacket picked up from my class by a Job Corps staff member.  Apparently, the student got into a brawl during his free time.  He was almost finished with his third module of math, the last one before graduating from math.  I'm so sad for his loss of opportunity, but we must have consequences for improper behavior.
     Since my nephew couldn't go kayaking with me after work, I decided to just chill at home and try to regroup emotionally.  After having some leftover homemade Katsu Don for dinner, I had my grand piano play Barbra Streisand songs, so I could sing my heart out and unpack my china and crystal.  Barbra songs always bring out deep emotions within me and the much needed tears.
     My tears were replaced by smiles as I unpacked my china and crystal from severely deformed boxes that had been in storage since 2010.  My childhood Campbell soup bowl with my name on it was surprisingly in those boxes.  My Hungarian housekeeper, Beulah, had given me that when I was a little girl.  I thought that I had accidentally left it in the garden shed at my former home.  I happened upon my mother's Spanish piano throw which is just what my piano needed.  My kids and my engraved silver spoons, sipper cup, and rattle brought back fond memories.  Amazingly, only one salad plate of my Mikasa china was broken.  My unorthodox packing with comforters, linens, paper towels, and pillows worked!
     It was wonderful to be reunited with my beautiful mementos, linens, and Mikasa china from the 1980's.  It matches perfectly with this new condo with the delicate pink and blue scrolling flowers with gold leafing.  I'll have to have some of the older ladies over for a tea party or schmooze Dan Lungren and his wife to try to understand why our government isn't productively working for us anymore.  When I get the robotics club up and running, I'm definitely inviting Dan Lungren to come visit SIATech to make sure that our funding keeps coming from the federal government.  Too funny:  I could use my china or robots for lures---such a dichotomy!
     Well, I'm emotionally regrouped for tomorrow.  I will just have to pray that my students make better decisions, so the road to a productive life is easier for them.  I can't give them a good life.  I can only guide them with my lessons.  They have to chose to do the work and have the self control.

P.S.  To my blog readers:  If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at:  https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960         Thank You!