Injustice Stings

Why didn't He send somebody else?

I kept a student after school for 3 hours tonight, on a Friday. Don't worry, his parents didn't care because they have no idea where he goes afterschool anyway. In those three hours, that student learned more than he had this entire month of school combined. And yet, if I could have him after school every week for three hours, we still wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface of his achievement defecit. Afterwards, I was left to stare at the reality that I am just barely chipping away at Mount Everest.

It's unfair that his parents can't help him because they don't speak English and because they're never home. It's unfair that the public school system has failed him and that he does not have a real ESL class to support him. It's unfair that the MCAS is going to be applied to him and he will have no hope of passing. It is unfair that Boston can't give him all the resources that he needs to succeed, like they probably would be able to in Newton or Andover. It's unfair that he's stuck in a school where we mostly hire inexperienced and clueless teachers like me who may have a lot of heart, but are lacking in skill. If I spent a year, focusing only on this student and trying to help only him succeed, I might have a hope. But when I look at the twelve to fifteeen students who need that kind of help, I can't help but feel daunted. Faced with a mountain to tear down, I've only got a spoon.

When I read Exodus, I find that I cannot criticize Moses for asking God to send somebody better to do the job.