Smoke. Screaming. Blood. All he remembers was being dragged across a rooftop while the enemy continued to fire upon his platoon. He had lost consciousness. For a time his was mistaken for dead. His comrades who were breathing just minutes before were now dismembered, disemboweled, and almost unrecognizable. Tattoos helped identify them. They were good friends. His lifeline. His family. He had been thrown over ten feet, but that mattered little now. Besides the blood flowing heavily down his eyes and head, he was mobile and in good condition.

Just five minutes before, he had been in the thick of a fierce gun battle. The sounds were deafening. Lights littered the night sky. These exchanges were very routine. He was always prepared for them. It happened almost every night. He was keen at recognizing the enemy. Tonight had been a special night for his entire unit. This was the last night outside the wire. Tomorrow he and his buddies would prepare to head home to their families after a long and extended tour. Unfortunately for them, it was the end of their road. He would be the only one to tell their story.

Glad your home and safe homie. Thanks for sharing your experiences with me. I’ll carry them always.

I’ve been teaching elementary students for the last six years and I’ve watched many of my students grow from young adolescent children into bright young teens. It makes me very proud to see many of my students continue to succeed in school, but it also bothers me when I see many of them struggling just to pass to the next grade.

The biggest changes I’ve seen in my former students is their attitudes towards doing school work and towards academic acheivement. Most of the students I’ve talked to who were doing poorly simply said that they didn’t really care about their grades. Studying for tests and doing homework are for kids with no life.

Growing up, I always did well in school. I actually found girls with brains to be very attractive. Even when I had crushes, extra curricular activities, and other hobbies, I was always able to maintain my grades. Succeeding in school was always a top priority, and I did a very good job at it. I don’t know why my attitude toward school was good, but I maintained it throughout my academic career, including college. I think that my mother had a very strong influence on me, but then again, my brothers didn’t do as well as I did. Perhaps its my personality? Im not sure. I do know that I’ve always been very ambitious and willing to go beyond the call of duty to achieve my goals regardless of what they were. Perhaps this is the key. A strong ambition. A strong drive to succeed in general.

Whatever the reason may be, Im hoping to find a way to instill the importance of a good education to my present and future students. I’ve noticed that the importance of school work in the minds of many of my students have seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. Every year it gets tougher to teach my students because many of them just don’t have the proper attitude about school. Of course there are the exceptions to the rule, but the amount of negative attitudes about school in general has doubled in just the six short years I’ve been in the classroom. This is what I’ve noticed.

What must we do to teach the importance of school? How can we teach the value of a proper education? How can we implant in our youth, that success in anything starts with a proper attitude? These are just some questions to think about.