When I think about the supports I have on a daily basis compared to those supports a child in my classroom may need, I come up with two different answers.
The supports of a child in my classroom could mean something as similar as pictures with words cards for my ESL learners to an open classroom layout to the child who may have a physical disability and everything in between or beyond. Supports in the classroom include partnerships with families, the back up of administration, and relationships with colleagues. These supports help insure a child is and feels successful each day when they are at school.
However, for myself my supports come in different means. My job brings a paycheck which brings money to pay bills, keep my car running, keep food in my house, and allows me to provide for my needs and sometimes my wants. Without my job bringing a paycheck, I would end up without money to pay my bills which means I could end up homeless. However, I have a supportive family of those members I am close to. They have provided me with a place to stay and food to eat as well as loans of money when the need has arose. Without my family as my baseline of support through everything I have encountered I would be lost. I then have my friends. I can say that I have those I talk to about anything, those that I pick and choose what to say, and those that are casual acquitances. I can also say that I have had friends come and go, but the lessons learned in this relationships have helped make me the person that I am today. While I could tell my family anything, I am glad that I have my friends for support because there are topics I do not want to talk with my family about becasue since they are my family, they have their biases and sometimes don't look at the whole picture. My friends provide a different level of love and encouragement to keep me moving on even when life has thrown out the lemons.
I do not believe without my family and friends that I could survive. I have had the unfortunate occurence of being without a job, without a cell phone, without a car and through the help of family and friends made it through. It is nice to know that I have a support system when life throws me lemons, they help me make lemonade.
