I wrote an article where I questioned if a student who came to my school was ready for school. This was a student who I was absolutely certain did not belong in school. I lost sleep over him and really dreaded school like I hadn't in years.
The day began rough. His grandmother pointed out where I made mistakes in working with him and there were several. I did not get the hoped for one on one assistance from my school for him. I was told I had to take him to the restroom every hour and a half and he demanded so much attention. As long as his grandmother was with us he was awesome. Even before she left I was afraid that he was going to be as bad or worse than he was Friday.
He started off as bad as he was Friday. I thought that I had to accomplish two things: I had to change his language outburst and I had to win him over, get him to trust me. He cursed at a machine gun like rapidity. At first I let him know that cursing wasn't acceptable in my class and quickly found out that this was not working so I changed tactics.
There was one word he used more than others. As he sang out one word that means fecal material about every 4 seconds. I sang out at the same time a word very much like it but with another vowel sound. The word I shouted was "shoot." My reasoning was that if he heard it enough it would at first confuse him as to which word he was trying to use. I felt that if I praised him whenever he used my word he would use my word more and more exclusively. Along the way I found he likes to play basketball even though he has to shoot from a half resting position. He is good and when we teach him to aim just a bit lower he should be able to be a quite accurate foul shooter. By the end of the day he was using my word about 65% of the time.
I spent a lot of time giving high five and friendly pats, telling him frequently that we are buddies. By the end of the day he was calling me buddy. He still doesn't like being in school much but we made significant steps today. I am worn out but am glad to have a career where I can fix mistakes I make, be proven wrong and be glad to be proven wrong. I am glad I have a career where in spite of myself I can make a difference.
I am glad I belong to Gather where I have friends kind enough to offer me help when I ask for it. I am glad I have peers kind enough to offer me a good dose of reality when I find myself wallowing in self pity.
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Comments: 19 ( 1 removed by Kevin E. )
I really admire what you do.
http://friendsofdanh.gather.com.
Our goal is to help you further your exposure and to support other gather members.
you've made a difference in the world.