The week after spring break proved to be something of an anomaly for me...New Kid was out for three days in a row!
On the first day both Highlights and he were gone. What a difference those two make!!! During math time I had all my kids on task, working quietly in pairs, spread out around the room, with soothing, classical music playing in the background. It was so picture perfect I had to run across the hallway and get one of my coworkers. She took one look around the room and nodded her head in approval.
When I filled her in on who was absent, her own eyes lit up with understanding...her naughty boy, who has behaviors and academic problems similar to New Kid, had just gone home sick.
We smiled, high-fived, and went on to enjoy a calm and productive afternoon with our kids.
Even though I did enjoy my time without New Kid immensely, it did make me a little depressed. As I wrote in my teacher's diary, "(It's) sad that they make such a negative difference. I gave the class an extra 15 minute recess and they were so happy." I can't normally do that sort of thing when New Kid is around and most of my class does deserve fun, little surprise like that.
Oh well, only nine weeks left...let the countdown begin!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Isn't is crazy how a few key players can make a huge difference in the whole climate of the classroom?!
ReplyDeleteAnd it's been really hard since New Kid is such a bully and there isn't much follow through at home. I even e-mailed his teacher from last year to see if she had any tips or tricks that worked, but she never wrote me back...twice. I mean, I know I look forward to forgetting about him over the summer, but if his teacher next year needs some help, I'm totally there for her. I wish his past teacher would have done that for me.
ReplyDelete-PT