1,060 Hrs.

On the inside of all of the metro buses in Miami is an LED marquee that projects the current date and time; I presume they are there for control freaks like myself who like to know exactly how late the bus is making them for their next appointment. Those clocks' accuracy usually amazes, but sometimes they are a little off. Today, I rode a bus that told me it is currently July 11, 1999.

Because of a lack of better things to do, I started to reminisce about what life was like ten years ago. At that time, I would have ten years old and about to enter the fifth grade. Suddenly, the thought struck me that I would have been just like my students are now! Then I started to think about how I sometimes have a really hard time connecting with my students, so I then thought that it might help if I could only remember what life was like for me at that age.

The more I remembered, the more I realized that myself at age ten was absolutely nothing like my students ate age ten. Is that because the World was different ten years ago, or because the world I lived in is so different from the world my students life in? Or is it simply because I was a very unique child???

Here are some things that have not changed:
-Friendships and relationships are the most important things in the World
-Grades and report cards are not really that big of a deal
-Extra attention from adults is something to strive for
-Standing out from the crowd is a bad thing
-Parents are the source of all love, support, and safety-parents who destroy that also destroy the child
-Candy is a massive motivator
-Anything done on a computer is automatically fun
-No thought is given to school work once the bell rings at 3:00
-Appearance is everything
-Every child needs to be praised as often as possible

Here are some things that are different:
-No Myspace or Facebook
-Cell phones were not used for constantly or for cheating during tests
-I never dreamed of punching anyone in the face
-Adults were meant to be obeyed, not doubted
-Everyone I knew (except myself) had a mommy and daddy who were married and raised their children together
-If I didn't eat breakfast in the morning, it was because I was in a hurry to get to school-not because my parents couldn't afford it
-Being able to read by the first grade was a given
-No school uniforms!
-I was never worried about being shot when I left my house
-Guns were only tools that superheroes used

What will this teach me about my children? I am not sure yet.

-Aly