Skip to main content

Finding the Connections


Don’t I hate it when I back a student into a corner unintentionally! I did it today with one of my 8th graders. He didn’t do his homework and was very nonchalant about it. I asked him (loud enough for the whole class to hear unfortunately) what his football coach would think about that. Of course, he started telling me he didn’t know about the assignment. Not letting it drop, I disagreed with him. I argued with a student. UGH! I know better than that! My rapport with this student has been very positive. All it took for me to screw it up was showing my disappointment, no make that frustration, that he did not do his homework. When I went to apologize to him immediately after I realized what I did, he turned his head and ignored me. At that point, I walked away. As class went on, I treated him like I did every other day. By the end of class, he had come around and approached me about getting his homework done.  With any luck, it will come in tomorrow.

I have two classes of students who are at the lower end of the spectrum and have not been successful in school for a multitude of reasons. You know the ones. These are the kids who avoid anything academic as much as possible. No surprise that the majority of them are boys. I need to find ways for them to be successful in their reading and writing. This is difficult to do when several of them cannot read past a second grade level. What use do they have of the foolish things we learn in school such as plot? That is my challenge - to find a way to engage them. I know inquiry is the way to go, yet I have yet to come up with the right question to get it started. Therefore, we do the curriculum in a unique way. I want to find a way to make the curriculum relevant to the world around them. In the 8th grade that means writing letters to the principal asking for recess, new football helmets, and uniforms. Who knows if they will get anything they want, but at least the students get a voice. In the meantime, I have not found the magic for the 7th grade yet. I need to find out what my non-readers are into. Slowly, but surely that information is coming out.

I have a manager for my team. He is from the self-contained room; self-contained because of his behavior. The type of kid I taught for the first six years of my teaching career. I approached him when an adult suggested it to me. He is all about helping out. I am all about working with him. When I told my team who it was, they all looked a bit surprised. I imagine it is due to his reputation – a gang member and a trouble-maker. Yet, I hear he is a good kid who has made some bad choices. I am going to give him the opportunity to make some good choices. God knows I could use the help.

I work with a group of such amazing kids! I know why it was time for me to leave my last school. We need each other.


Comments

  1. JanetSeptember 1, 2010 at 8:12 PM

    You are the best thing for these kids! If anyone can reach them it is you! Remember, Reading Don't Fix No Chevy's!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Hardest One Yet

 From the time I began this blog, I made the conscious choice that I would be honest and open in the moment – whatever is going on. For the most part, I have done that.  After struggling about whether to write about this particular challenge (let alone share it), I chose to do the uncomfortable and do both – write and share. “Your certification has not even been processed yet. Probably won’t happen until at least the middle of January.”  I took a deep breath as I heard those words a couple weeks ago and I realized what that meant. Christmas would look very different than originally planned. The retroactive pay that Santa was counting on to make the holiday something special for our family would not be coming. I took a deep breath as I hung up the phone and walked out of my classroom, despair bombarding the hope and excitement of the upcoming holiday. A tornado of thoughts began whirling in my head as I walked to the guidance office. Playing with our budget in my head trying to
7 comments
Read more

The Next Chapter Begins...

The first round of tears happened during the 8 th grade promotion. It has been such a wonderful year with all of them – 7 th and 8 th graders alike. The second round of tears came when I learned I do not have a contract for next year. I will not be returning to Benson Middle School unless the displaced teachers do not jump at the chance for my classroom.   Right after she told me, I did my best to remain professional and keep the tears at bay. Unfortunately, they came anyway. About the time the tears hit my eyes, an email a dear friend sent me when I first wrote about the contract situation came to mind: “There is always a reason for things. Maybe God wants you to move on and inspire other students.” I love what she says. I feel that with my whole being. However, it did not make hearing that I have no job any easier. So now what? I am floating off the edge again. My family began the year in two different states. We are reunited again in North Carolina. Both Tony and I with
7 comments
Read more

Aging sucks.....or does it?

Upon first thought, watching a parent age sucks. Unnoticeable at first. A bit of a stoop, some creaking in the knees, whitening of the hair. The doctor’s visits begin, as do the pills One for high blood pressure, another to thin the blood, and a handful of vitamins to top it off. The signs are there, but it is easier to see him as he has always been. My father, a pillar of strength. Until my pillar was knocked off-kilter. A simple surgery and the mortality of my father looked me square in the eye when the drugs took hold of his brain. Amidst his fidgeting and confusion, I realized…AGING SUCKS! And then….enlightenment dawned upon me….AGING IS BEAUTIFUL Wrinkles tell of smiles while silver hair speaks a life of memories. Knees creaky after years of kneeling in prayer, offering up a lap, and climbing up the stairs for one more kiss goodnight. Almost forty-eight years of memories nestled in my heart. Memories of my father. Taking us to church each Sunday Building and fixing
2 comments
Read more