“We became friends this past school year. We taught math and science together, and our kids are about the same age. We have so much in common.”

“We have matching personalities. Actually, not really.”

“We’re like yin and yang.”

“Yeah, she’s really outspoken and organized, and I’m non-confrontational and have no concept of time. I’m always late.”

“I’m always like, ‘Come on, let’s go.’ We work pretty well together.”

Unfortunately, their friendship dynamics are about to change.

“We’re moving to Shanghai, China, for my husband’s job. We kind of thought we were going to put down roots here because we’ve moved around so much. My in-laws even bought a house here. But you have to do what you have to do. I figure there’s a plan. We just have to trust in it.”

“And I’m very sad. I finally find a friend who I can tell secrets to and know that she’s not going to say anything. And the kids have a lot of the same interests. We’re really going to miss them.”

— Sonia Ramirez and Kris Shelley

The post They’re sad to see teaching relationship ending appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“There’s a lot of disrespect for law enforcement these days.

“I think a big issue is that in the home, kids aren’t taught about respect for others. They don’t respect their parents, they don’t respect their teachers. So the same issue you see in the home floods into the schools, and when they’re older you deal with it on the streets with law enforcement. Everybody wants to be treated one way, but they don’t want to treat other people that same way.

“That’s one of the reasons my wife and I work with Cub Scouts and young people in our church, to help them see things from a different perspective. We can’t change the whole world, but we can change the part that we influence.”

— Rodney Sellers

(Update: Rodney passed away in April 2016.)

The post Showing young people importance of respect appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to become a doctor. I’ve always been interested in helping people.

“We used to live in Matamoros, Mexico, and most of my family there studied to be teachers. They thought I was going to be a teacher, too, until I said no. Or they wanted me to be a beautician. I was like, ‘Uh, no.’

“A lot of people in my family have been sick, mostly with diabetes but also some heart problems. It actually hit me hardest when I was 15. My grandpa passed away that year. He had diabetes and had most of his toes cut off. I really set my mind then on becoming a doctor with a goal of finding a way to make sure that nobody else would have to go through something like that. That’s what’s motivating me.”

The post Grandfather’s diabetes battle leads to career goal appeared first on The Baytown Project.