It is a memory that I hope to take with me to my grave. It was a crystal-clear morning and the sun was just about to reach its peak over the Black Hills of South Dakota. From time to time, by breath came out in little wisps as I walked. The scene before me was a feast for the eyes. Golden hills stretched seemingly endlessly towards the horizon, kissing the sky with its long blades of prairie grass. We were the only humans to be seen within a thirty mile radius. The world was are playground.

On my left hand side, H giggled with glee as she gripped my mitten-clad hand. In hear eagerness, she often tripped and I almost seemed to be carrying her with my one arm, preventing her from falling. On my left, W clung to her beloved teacher. The high pony-tail I gave her earlier that morning swung side to side as we tromped through the hills. In front on me E blazed the path. She was confident in her movement, her stride suggesting that she was much older than 12. M, so much like me when I was her age, defiantly took the most laborious path, jumping from bolder to bolder and refusing any help when at all possible. She embraced the road less traveled. Completing our ensemble was my little warrior,T, who was making revving noises like a truck. He raced back and forth, round and round. Working double duty as the sun during the night and a car during the day, T was a fireball of energy. He embodies all that is good about children, a hunger to explore, a sense of adventure, innocence, compassion and a good imagination. I have talked with mom about arranging to have my future daughter marry him.

The six of us spent a few glorious hours together, walking through the country, tackling a primitive rope swing, trekking around an enormous porcupine the fondly christened "Porky" and gallivanting through the hills. I felt so alive and part of something so much bigger as I zipped up their stubborn zippers, gave up my mittens to fingers more worthy than mine and practically dragged the younger ones up the hill as their sense of adventure outlasted the strength in their feet. I hope to never forget the image of all five them running up that final hill, their waist-long golden hair in beautiful disarray and their smiles broad. I could scarcely breathe at the sight. At that moment the world--no, our world--seemed perfect.

I have included a picture of Red Hawk, a great Oglala leader. I find it very moving that today, five of his descendents roamed the same hills in this photo, land he was willing to die for. In realitiy, the spirit of the Lakota people was seen today in all its glory.

Book the Third

This final posting for the night includes a smorgasbord of info. For example, many of you may be thrilled to know that M arrived on time again today--that makes 7 days straight!! I was so stoked. She barely made it and she wasn't in the best of moods, but we had a good time today and I made a big deal of it.

Reading is still going very well. I am amazed at how much my kids are growing. Please, please pray for a miracle: that ALL my children would be on a fourth grade reading level by year's end.

Social Studies was both good and bad today. On the bad side, most of the 3rd grade did very poorly on their tests. I was very disappointed. They had a million reasons why they didn't study but they were just excuses. It was a wake up call for both of us.

Also, two of my students were talking during the test. I told them to stop once. Then I told them I would give the both Fs if they said another word. To my surprise, they did again! And so, I got up and took their tests. They both looked a little stunned. I simply said, "I warned you." Later, one of the girls timidly came up to my desk. There were tears in her eyes. She told me "Miss Brendsel, I was only asking how to spell a word." I explained to her that I had no way of knowing if she and T were cheating. Also, I had warned them not to talk anymore. But then as I looked into her very remorseful eyes, I remembered a time in second grade when a sub grabbed by the arm and told me to "keep my eyes on my own paper." I was mortified. I remember that the only reason I was looking at the kid's paper was because I had bet him that he couldn't get every word right on his test and I was just checking his status. I was NOT cheating. I was humiliated by her accusation and when I looked at W, I remembered that moment and felt a wave of compassion and grace. I told her that I believed her and that I would give her grace this one time. I therefore allowed both children to retake the test at lunch. After all, the purpose of the test was to see what they were learning, not determining if they were getting into Harvard.

And finally, today I got offered the JV Girls Basketball coach position. The school secretary and someone from HR plotted together to get me to fill this vacant position. To take on this job, I would have to quit the after school program. It would also require that I leave school early on game days and attend practices every day until however long. Worst of all, it would require that I interact with teenagers...Yikes! I went over to the high school and met the head coach--the cousin of one of my students and the secretary's son. He seemed nice enough and like he knew his stuff. As for the girls, I will admit that they scared. They looked like a tough bunch. Natives are naturally built taller than most people from back home and this was very evident from the team. I am fairly tall but many of the girls towered over me and looked as if they could break me in half and eat me up for dinner.

I'll be honest-- I was afraid. I was not afraid that they would hurt me, but that when (not if) they were disrespectful, that I would not know how to deal. I can't exactly tell a 17 year-old girl that she is not being "a world changer." Can you imagine her reply? I can, and it includes a lot of expletives. I have known this for a long time--my gifting is with younger children. That is where God has called me. I am not willing to miss class time and abandon the after school program to coach, even if it is a sport I once loved. I am called to love my babies. And so, I am going tomorrow I am going to respectfully say No--a big deal for me.

Well, I had better get back to work!

B

Book the Second

In other news...

My blizzard-bound children have finally returned to school. I was truly overjoyed. In fact, there presence caused today to be the first day we had perfect attendance in a long time. They add such a beautiful dimension to our class.


In total, the J girls missed 10 school days. However, in reality they probably received as good, if not better, education at home. Their mom, J, is an amazing teacher and a good friend. Actually, J reminds me a lot of my research partner from Uganda, who lives in Alaska, is getting married in December and moving to Thailand. They both are always doing crazy things. For instance, J has strep so she told me that she was using all sort of objects to scrape the white stuff off her throat. I could just see her using a fork to scrape the bacteria off her throat. Gross! And at church the other day, I noticed that she was wearing glasses. I was shocked when she pulled them from her face and they snapped back! One of the babies broke one arm of the glasses so she broke the other off and attached elastic instead! I laughed so hard. She is always doing funny things like that. But I guess she has to having seven kids to take care of with no running water, heat or electricity.

I am having Thanksgiving with their family on Thursday. I can't wait to see how the are going to cook a 20 pound turkey in a wood stove!

P.S. In some ways, J reminds me of Annie Oakley, so I have included a picture of the famous tamer of the West.

Book the First

I have a lot to talk about today, so perhaps I will do so in pieces. I shall call this "Book the First."

Chapter 1: The Ear Infection

Thanks to horrendous family genetics (thanks daddy), my ear canals are defective and do not properly drain. The result? Frequent and extremely painful ear aches. Indeed, since I was a child, I have been prone to these attacks which cause me to feel as if a balloon was being blown up inside of my head. I usually get one a year. However, I got two in Thailand--one of which was the most painful in my life. The last one I had was a birthday present in Uganda. I ended up crying the entire night as I lay on the cool tile floor.

This weekend, I continued this tradition by getting yet another ear infection. However, this time the grace of God, a lot of love and a whole lot more common sense caused me to act in the much early stages of the pain. You see, the familiar dull throbbing pain started on Saturday. It proceeded to get worse on Sunday morning, but I tried to remain optimistic. My fellow teacher, fellow church-goer and close friend here told me that I should go to Urgent Care in Rapid. (R is kinda like my Auntie. Her hubby says that I would be the perfect daughter for her. I told her I was already happily taken, Mommy!) However, as you already know if you are a faithful blog reader, I despise Rapid City. I brushed her suggestion aside, citing my lost insurance card (which was true). However, when my other excellent friend, R, suggested that I go to the clinic, I thought perhaps I should. So I called R and told her I would make a search for my card. However, I only planned on putting forth a tiny bit of effort since I didn't really want to go. In fact, I sent up a Hail Mary prayer that went something like this "God, if you want me to go to Rapid, help me find my insurance card." I might as well have said, "P.S. Keep it hidden!" But, as you may have expected the very next pair of jeans I picked up had my card underneath. Now, this is a modern day miracle as my room is so messy, I half to part-time as a bulldozer to get to my bed! Needless, to say, I humbly asked R to take me to Rapid.

I can now say that I am truly thankful I went. I was able to get a diagnosis and double dose of Amoxicyllin for just $25! I love insurance! Also, the medicine prevented me from experiencing the most severe stages of the ear infection and I am happy to report that I am now on the mend.

Chaperone

Sometimes I wonder if I am qualified to chaperone field trips...especially since I had to hop over two barricades, scale a wall and slide down a fence to get un-locked-out of my school today. In spite of my doubts, today I chaperoned twenty third graders from our after-school program on a field trip to Rapid.

The day started off hectic. I had a couple of kids try to sneak onto the bus, though they had never been to Wo Lakota. There wasn't enough room on the bus for K-3 so my kids had to triple up. Plus, I had to sit in the very back of the bus, where suspension is not existent. By the time we had driven three miles, one girl had spilled blue Power Ade on my copy of Crime and Punishment, I was nauseous from being jostled and had been deemed a loser by a nine-year-old for not ever having kissed a boy (though she didn't dare use the term 'loser').

Things only got more interesting as the day wore on. I had to gather the lunch request of 20 crazy kids which was not a fun task. You cannot imagine how many ways a basic cheeseburger can be ordered! When we got to Wendy's things were even more chaotic as I attempted to match each box of fries and hamburger with its salivating owner. To my annoyance, several of the children whined about the delay or pouted about getting a smaller drink--though I will admit in hindsight that the complaints were minimal considering the delay. In fact, a few customers in the restaurant commented on how well-behaved my kids were. I did have to make little MM stand without a chair because she kept leaning it back (I taped it to the floor in the classroom).

After our experience at Wendy's we headed to the movie theatre where each child was allowed to pick out a huge box of candy, a super-size-me-size soda (in addition to the soda from Wendy's) and share a bag of popcorn so big, only the Brendsel clan would even attempt to return for seconds. I could only shake my head and wonder why people questioned the diabetes rate on the Rez.

The kids were allowed to see one of three movies: High School Musical 3, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Bolt and Madagascar: Escape to Africa. I would rather eat Mopani worms again than watch HS Musical 3 with boy crazy 3rd graders. Any movie with the words "Beverly Hills" and "Chihuahua" were out for me. And since I never saw the first Madagascar, Bolt was the only remaining option. So, I arranged all the children in line by movie presence and waited to watch Bolt.

Unfortunately, the experience was dampened by Hannah Montana. Remember her? She called little M fat. She started sobbing in line. I was really, really upset. I pulled Hannah aside and really reamed her. She was near tears by the time I was done with her. I don't know if I have the authority to temporarily suspend her from Wo Lakota, but I am formulating a re-education plan for Hannah. I am sick of her biting inappropriate remarks. It is time she was held accountable.

As for M, she was really, really hurt. The Wo Lakota director came over and very forcefully told her to wipe away her tears and remember that "Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you." I was extremely annoyed. Does anyone actually believe that is true? One word has the power to wound the soul for decades. When she left, I told M that I knew those words hurt and that she could cry all she wanted. But I am afraid her little soul is wounded.

We went to the movie, which was surprisingly good, and returned home without further incidence. It was a far more pleasant day (besides Hannah's awful remark) than I had imagined.

Letter of Comfort

One of my favorite parts of my day is our two hour literacy block in the morning. Initially, I hated it because I didn’t have a clue what was going on. However, I am now getting the hang of things and it is truly amazing watching a child develop a love of reading.

Our Writing block follows reading and last an hour each day. I teach a skill for about fifteen minutes and then leave them to produce whatever they wish.

Today, I told my students that one of our staff members had lost a brother. The situation was really tragic and highly preventable. This particular staff member has been nothing but kind to me and I can tell she is grieving so deeply. I thought the kids might encourage her so I proposed that some of them write her letters during independent writing time. One of my students, little A, wrote the following piece. I have clarified meaning where necessary as some of you may not be skilled in the art of decoding kid-speak:

Dear S-

But im [I am] sorry what happend to your brother I wise [wish] I can say something to him. I will pray for him every time berore [before] I will go bed and we all love you every day[.] You can put food out thein and pray to him.

We love him.

by A.

I was so touched by this special message I made a photo copy for myself and nearly cried. A is one of my favorite students as he has such a sweet spirit and is so eager to please. He has had a hard life and such compassion coming from an eight-year-old encourages me regarding the future of our world.

B

The Children

So I thought I should give some updates on the children.

I guess I should start with bad news. Do you remember B? He was the boy that I thought had some evil spirit over him or something. Well, he has not been doing well. A few weeks ago he had to be restrained after punching and striking several people. Yesterday, he slapped a girl. And yes, he is still in school. Though he has been suspended several times, he just repeats the behavior. He has not been to my class in such a long--since before Halloween. He told my aide that he is scared of my class. I know that is a bunch of lies. He just knows I will make him work and not put up with his games. I am not afraid of him, though both of the other teachers are. So, in short, we really need to pray for him. I don't think he will be here much longer.

S, my little attitude girl is really progressing. I am really pleased to tell you that she is definitely reading on a higher level. She currently is hovering around the end of 1st grade, beginning of 2nd grade mark. Yes, this is not amazing, but remember that she came in at a Kindergarten level. Attitude wise, she still breaks a lot of our rules. However, she hasn't been as rebellious of late.

Finally, little M. I am so, so happy to tell you that she has been on time to school every day for the last five days! This is a huge feat for a girl who was tardy over 25 days last quarter. I am always quick to point this out and praise her constantly. We get along real well. She will eat a entire Hershey bar and bring me the last precious square, which is usually a bit melted after being cupped in her hand so long. The other day she brought me a half-consumed bottle of lukewarm strawberry milk. Pushing back thoughts of bacteria, I thank her as if she is giving me the moon. Her eyes just light up. I love that girl.

The other kids continue to do well. They are all progressing in their reading and I usually only have to deal with minor misbehavior. However, I did have two children in the after-school program sneak out. That was both scary and embarrassing for me as a teacher. I really reamed them the next day. As a consequence, they are banned from the after-school program and must make-up the two hours by coming in during recess--a kid's worst fear.

I have also realized that I am now able to observe when a child has deviate from his or her normal attitude. When I notice this shift, I take the child aside and ask him or her the reason--and there is almost always a reason. Today, my kids were really disengaged in times. After stopping class and acting what was up, I found out that one had gone to her Aunt's funeral (she froze to death in Rapid last week). Another was pulled out of bed to make an emergency trip to Rapid, not getting back to late. Still another was up late into the night preparing to move the next day. And so again I am reminded that when my children come to school, they come from difficult lives and backgrounds--lives I can never understand.

Well, keep my babies in your prayers,

B