Since I started writing this blog family and friends keep asking me why I continue to subject myself to the anger that takes place in my classroom. Here is why I continue to do this. On Wednesday of this week I signed in so the administrative staff knew that I'm in the building. I then check my mail box for mail. Today I have mail. It's a letter written on the official lined paper that is used for scholars that are still working on their handwriting skills. This is what it said.
August 19, 2014
Dear Mr. Schultz,
I appreciate you helping me when I'm mad. And you deal with my problems.
Sincerely,
Guest Scholar
I met this guest scholar in art class during the second week of school. He is in the third grade and during art class he got loud and disruptive and was told by the teacher to go sit at a desk in the back of the room. While he went peacefully his revenge for being asked to move was to bang on his new desk and make other loud noises. So the teacher could stay on task I got up and walked over to him and asked him why he was having such a bad day. He said so and so was making fun of me and so and so was laughing so I got mad. So I tell him the next time something like that happens rather that getting mad you get up and come sit by me. While he did absolutely no work in art class he remained silent. Since our first encounter in art class I had to approach this guest scholar two other times due to his loud and very active behavior. After our third encounter he said to me what is your name? I replied Mr. Schultz.
Fast forward two or three school days and while walking down the hallway I see the guest scholar's teacher. She stopped me and said I gave my students a writing assignment and they had to write a letter to someone they appreciate. She then told me his letter was addressed to me. I asked her if I could have a copy and she said sure I'll put it in your mailbox when I have a minute. One day after receiving the letter I see the guest scholar's teacher leading her class down the hallway. I stopped her and asked if I can talk to the guest scholar and she said sure. As I move down the hallway we see each other at about the same time. He steps out of line and head towards me with a huge smile on his face and gives me a hug. I look down at him and say I have your letter and I just wanted to you to know that your letter was the best letter I ever received while at school. He looks up with another huge smile on his face and gives me another hug. He then heads off down the hallway to catch up with his class.
I've been flipped off, cussed out, screamed at, had pencils, erasers, books and chairs thrown at me. I've been punched and kicked a lot of times. That comes with the territory of working in a classroom with scholars that have emotional disabilities. All of that is rendered meaningless when one simple letter from a third grade guest scholar appears in my mailbox.
I rode my bicycle twenty eight miles in the heat and humidity this morning (Saturday). Time to take a nap.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Friday, August 29, 2014
A Three-peat. Great In Sports But Not A Classroom
So much has happened in the last three days that I don't know where to start. By the way, it's Friday evening and I'm enjoying a really nice Nunmoere Black from Flat 12 brewery that is in a frosted glass. The number of scholars that I've been asked to deal with has increased and as I'm sitting here typing it just clicked in my head why. Our In School Suspension room sits empty as the position is vacant. So who gets called to deal with angry students? I do and as of right now I can say this, it sucks. I'm dealing with so many students that like sports I'm going to start a roster to keep track of everyone.
My Scholars
The Collector - although recently we've referred to him as Pastor. 4th grade
Yo! 3rd grade
EM 3rd grade
Uh-Uh-Uh 2nd grade
The King* 3rd grade
* Rapper works solely with The King. Adult
Guest Scholars
Floss 5th grade
Stretch not sure, 5th or 6th
WhiteE Kindergarten
Grrrr! 1st grade
Future Scholars and this makes me cringe
New scholar #1
New scholar #2
New scholar #3
You are reading that correctly as Gnu has been informed that they will be arriving shortly. Hopefully not all on the same day.
One of the challenges we face is the range of grades that are in our room. With only a teacher and an instructional assistant in the room to do the academics dividing the scholars into two groups just doesn't work. There is always the odd person out that has to work independent and that is a formula for failure. Breaking the scholars into groups also is a challenge because our two third graders read at a level that is Kindergarten or 1st grade at best.
It's time for Math. Gnu has The King, Uh-Uh-Uh and EM. I have Yo! and The Collector. Today's lesson is place values for the group with Gnu. Hmmmm! I wonder if I have to explain that? Ok, as Gnu does it starting with a low voice and gradually singing higher, ones, tens, hundreds, thousands. The King and Uh-Uh-Uh are holding their own. EM's head is down an indication that he is lost. The phone rings and I'm called upstairs and I know departing the room that it will be Floss or Stretch and maybe even both at the same time. I return to the classroom and all academics has stopped and I recognize immediately something is wrong just by the way the furniture is placed and EM is under a table. I ask Gnu what happened. EM got upset because he needed help but I was helping The King. I asked him to wait but he erupted, threw his pencil, knock his paper on the floor and then started moving quickly and angrily around the room. He got to the wastebasket and while in the process of turning it over got even angrier and start laughing hysterically. He did what is all I could say. Gnu calls for a brain break and we wait for EM to collect himself.
Moving forward and it's now past lunch and we are reading. I have EM on one side of me and The Collector on the other. They are reading different books. We all agree that EM will read three sentences first from his book and then The Collector will do the same from his book. Uh-Uh-Uh is working independent which works fine for reading as she is a pretty good reader and likes to read. Yo! and The King are working with Gnu with Rapper sitting near The King. I'm occupied with EM and The Collector but I half here Gnu say to Yo! just focus on what you are doing. A very short time later Gnu is up and heading toward Yo! as he is fishing. This gets my attention and I stop and look. Fortunately Rapper is near The King as Yo! has set the hook. Fish on! Gnu tells Rapper that The King has a mechanical pencil in his hand. I look and he is holding it tightly in his fist that is down at his side. Rapper is up quickly and grabs The King by the wrist and removes the mechanical pencil. The King tries to move away but the Rapper has him and is moving him toward the time out room. The King erupts with a loud voice to include a few ef-bombs and is kicking anything within leg reach. I get the door to the time out room open and The King is placed inside. About a minute passes when I hear Gnu loudly say to Yo! what are you doing? I look at her and she says he is poking himself in the arm with a pencil.
Moving towards the end of the day and we are working on the last academic assignment. Gnu has Uh-Uh-Uh, EM and The King. I'm in the back of the room. Uh-Uh-Uh and The King finish the task and are given a brain break. EM is not finished and tries to stop working. Gnu says you need to finish that assignment before you get a brain break. The pencil flies across the room with the speed of a one hundred mile per hour fast ball and the paper goes flying. He is moving and about to start knocking over furniture but I'm to close so he drops to the floor and starts hitting himself in the head and banging his forehead on the floor. I sit down next to him and try to get him to stop. He starts rolling away from me and stops when he is under Gnu's desk and quietly lays there.
This is the eighteenth day of the school year. The range of grade levels and academic levels is not going to go away. Neither will the whining of the scholars. I need help. Will you help me. Why are you helping him and not me. Will somebody help me. Scholars are agitated. Anger levels are increasing. Then there is the eruption. There are one hundred and sixty two days to go. Lord give us the patience to deal with young scholars that sadly have so many serious issues.
Time for a second Nunmoere Black from Flat 12 brewery. Thanks for reading the blog. I'm out.
Crap! I forgot about The Collector a.k.a. Pastor. The Collector likes to go into the time out room and preach. He made a microphone from paper and also folded some papers in half, stapled them and wrote Bible on the top cover sheet. He'll be in the time out room just preaching away with some occasional singing. We have hot wheel cars in the room and he will get them and align them in straight rows right outside the time out room. Why? The cars are in the parking lot and the owners are in his church. As a reminder. The names you read are totally made up. The events I talk about are true.
My Scholars
The Collector - although recently we've referred to him as Pastor. 4th grade
Yo! 3rd grade
EM 3rd grade
Uh-Uh-Uh 2nd grade
The King* 3rd grade
* Rapper works solely with The King. Adult
Guest Scholars
Floss 5th grade
Stretch not sure, 5th or 6th
WhiteE Kindergarten
Grrrr! 1st grade
Future Scholars and this makes me cringe
New scholar #1
New scholar #2
New scholar #3
You are reading that correctly as Gnu has been informed that they will be arriving shortly. Hopefully not all on the same day.
One of the challenges we face is the range of grades that are in our room. With only a teacher and an instructional assistant in the room to do the academics dividing the scholars into two groups just doesn't work. There is always the odd person out that has to work independent and that is a formula for failure. Breaking the scholars into groups also is a challenge because our two third graders read at a level that is Kindergarten or 1st grade at best.
It's time for Math. Gnu has The King, Uh-Uh-Uh and EM. I have Yo! and The Collector. Today's lesson is place values for the group with Gnu. Hmmmm! I wonder if I have to explain that? Ok, as Gnu does it starting with a low voice and gradually singing higher, ones, tens, hundreds, thousands. The King and Uh-Uh-Uh are holding their own. EM's head is down an indication that he is lost. The phone rings and I'm called upstairs and I know departing the room that it will be Floss or Stretch and maybe even both at the same time. I return to the classroom and all academics has stopped and I recognize immediately something is wrong just by the way the furniture is placed and EM is under a table. I ask Gnu what happened. EM got upset because he needed help but I was helping The King. I asked him to wait but he erupted, threw his pencil, knock his paper on the floor and then started moving quickly and angrily around the room. He got to the wastebasket and while in the process of turning it over got even angrier and start laughing hysterically. He did what is all I could say. Gnu calls for a brain break and we wait for EM to collect himself.
Moving forward and it's now past lunch and we are reading. I have EM on one side of me and The Collector on the other. They are reading different books. We all agree that EM will read three sentences first from his book and then The Collector will do the same from his book. Uh-Uh-Uh is working independent which works fine for reading as she is a pretty good reader and likes to read. Yo! and The King are working with Gnu with Rapper sitting near The King. I'm occupied with EM and The Collector but I half here Gnu say to Yo! just focus on what you are doing. A very short time later Gnu is up and heading toward Yo! as he is fishing. This gets my attention and I stop and look. Fortunately Rapper is near The King as Yo! has set the hook. Fish on! Gnu tells Rapper that The King has a mechanical pencil in his hand. I look and he is holding it tightly in his fist that is down at his side. Rapper is up quickly and grabs The King by the wrist and removes the mechanical pencil. The King tries to move away but the Rapper has him and is moving him toward the time out room. The King erupts with a loud voice to include a few ef-bombs and is kicking anything within leg reach. I get the door to the time out room open and The King is placed inside. About a minute passes when I hear Gnu loudly say to Yo! what are you doing? I look at her and she says he is poking himself in the arm with a pencil.
Moving towards the end of the day and we are working on the last academic assignment. Gnu has Uh-Uh-Uh, EM and The King. I'm in the back of the room. Uh-Uh-Uh and The King finish the task and are given a brain break. EM is not finished and tries to stop working. Gnu says you need to finish that assignment before you get a brain break. The pencil flies across the room with the speed of a one hundred mile per hour fast ball and the paper goes flying. He is moving and about to start knocking over furniture but I'm to close so he drops to the floor and starts hitting himself in the head and banging his forehead on the floor. I sit down next to him and try to get him to stop. He starts rolling away from me and stops when he is under Gnu's desk and quietly lays there.
This is the eighteenth day of the school year. The range of grade levels and academic levels is not going to go away. Neither will the whining of the scholars. I need help. Will you help me. Why are you helping him and not me. Will somebody help me. Scholars are agitated. Anger levels are increasing. Then there is the eruption. There are one hundred and sixty two days to go. Lord give us the patience to deal with young scholars that sadly have so many serious issues.
Time for a second Nunmoere Black from Flat 12 brewery. Thanks for reading the blog. I'm out.
Crap! I forgot about The Collector a.k.a. Pastor. The Collector likes to go into the time out room and preach. He made a microphone from paper and also folded some papers in half, stapled them and wrote Bible on the top cover sheet. He'll be in the time out room just preaching away with some occasional singing. We have hot wheel cars in the room and he will get them and align them in straight rows right outside the time out room. Why? The cars are in the parking lot and the owners are in his church. As a reminder. The names you read are totally made up. The events I talk about are true.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Scanning My Sector and Moving To A Defensive Mode
Scan your sector is a military term that means to carefully look at your surroundings. You start directly in front of yourself, looking left and right and gradually looking out farther in all directions. Why am I scanning my sector? I'm looking for sharp objects; scissors, mechanical pencils, ink pens and your standard #2 pencil. Fifteen days of a mostly calm environment ended. Day sixteen saw the start of the fishing expedition and the fisherman caught the same fish twice. Any guesses as to who was doing the fishing?
Last week Gnu made telephone calls to all of the parental units to update them on their scholars behavior. As relayed to me one of the calls was very interesting and a bit disturbing. The parental unit said to Gnu don't be lulled into a believing what was said about her scholar's past behavior being overstated because it is not. The parental unit went on to say her scholar can be well behaved for long periods of time but will eventually erupt. The parental unit also said her scholar has intentionally hurt himself, has found dead animals and brought them into the house, has been patted down so many times that he realized he can hide objects in his underwear because they don't pat down that area. It was also suggested by the parental unit that we search his backpack at the start of the day and at the end of the day as he will steal stuff.
The first fishing incident on Monday morning was minor as the two parties where fussing about foot placement when seated at that really huge desk with the gold trim on the side during an academic lesson. Fortunately The King made the right decision and walked away. He stopped near an exterior window and then turned back towards the front of the room. He went completely motionless and had this blank stare on his face and was not even blinking. Prior to his arrival we were informed that he would do this. Our instructions were to say nothing to him and don't even approach him as he will eventually get back on task. So Gnu, the mentor and I silently observed and in a short while he returned to the academic activity but at a different location away from the fisherman.
The second fishing incident happened in the afternoon and ended without a major incident. Again The King made a good decision to walk away from the the fisherman. As he walked past me the first hint of anger was seen on his face. When he passed me the mentor was walking directly behind him. The King entered our timeout room and somewhat aggressively closed the door. After a few minutes the mentor entered the timeout room and closed the door. That made me a little concerned so I adjusted my seating location closer to the timeout room in case things really escalated. A short while later the mentor stepped out and move towards me. He stated to me The King has a short term memory problem and may not think about what happened until some time in the future and then he may get aggressive with little or no warning. That made me think quite a bit for the remainder of the day. How do I guard against aggressive behavior for something that may occur sometime in the future and with little or no warning.? Right now I don't have an answer What I do know is that the fisherman is back in business and if he stays true to form he will fish everyday.
My sector has been scanned and objects that can be used as a potential weapon have been moved to higher ground. Will that help? Yes! Will it prevent a future major eruption from a scholar with some serious emotional and psychology issues who may desire to hurt someone? I pray it does. Will it stop Yo! from fishing? No!
Last week Gnu made telephone calls to all of the parental units to update them on their scholars behavior. As relayed to me one of the calls was very interesting and a bit disturbing. The parental unit said to Gnu don't be lulled into a believing what was said about her scholar's past behavior being overstated because it is not. The parental unit went on to say her scholar can be well behaved for long periods of time but will eventually erupt. The parental unit also said her scholar has intentionally hurt himself, has found dead animals and brought them into the house, has been patted down so many times that he realized he can hide objects in his underwear because they don't pat down that area. It was also suggested by the parental unit that we search his backpack at the start of the day and at the end of the day as he will steal stuff.
The first fishing incident on Monday morning was minor as the two parties where fussing about foot placement when seated at that really huge desk with the gold trim on the side during an academic lesson. Fortunately The King made the right decision and walked away. He stopped near an exterior window and then turned back towards the front of the room. He went completely motionless and had this blank stare on his face and was not even blinking. Prior to his arrival we were informed that he would do this. Our instructions were to say nothing to him and don't even approach him as he will eventually get back on task. So Gnu, the mentor and I silently observed and in a short while he returned to the academic activity but at a different location away from the fisherman.
The second fishing incident happened in the afternoon and ended without a major incident. Again The King made a good decision to walk away from the the fisherman. As he walked past me the first hint of anger was seen on his face. When he passed me the mentor was walking directly behind him. The King entered our timeout room and somewhat aggressively closed the door. After a few minutes the mentor entered the timeout room and closed the door. That made me a little concerned so I adjusted my seating location closer to the timeout room in case things really escalated. A short while later the mentor stepped out and move towards me. He stated to me The King has a short term memory problem and may not think about what happened until some time in the future and then he may get aggressive with little or no warning. That made me think quite a bit for the remainder of the day. How do I guard against aggressive behavior for something that may occur sometime in the future and with little or no warning.? Right now I don't have an answer What I do know is that the fisherman is back in business and if he stays true to form he will fish everyday.
My sector has been scanned and objects that can be used as a potential weapon have been moved to higher ground. Will that help? Yes! Will it prevent a future major eruption from a scholar with some serious emotional and psychology issues who may desire to hurt someone? I pray it does. Will it stop Yo! from fishing? No!
Monday, August 25, 2014
Decision Making - Just Exactly What Were You Thinking?
The first time I questioned the decision making process about the placement of scholars with emotional disabilities into a classroom goes back to a scholar named Jake LaMatta. If you are not familiar with Jake you can read the post dated May 31, 2014 and April 29, 2014 to get an idea of the challenges this scholar presented. As we start this new year I again have to ask just exactly what were you thinking when you made these decision especially with new teachers in both ED classrooms. Last school year it was just a single scholar but this year it involves two scholars and we are only fifteen days into the school year.
I think I'll start with the guest scholars that I encountered recently. One of them is Floss who is a scholar I worked with for two years. The other scholar, I'll call him Stretch, arrived after the school year started and I've already had two encounters with him. One minor and one serious enough that I was called to assist another male teacher subdue him. Both of these scholar can get angry very quickly and I can tell you with no uncertain terms that are not and will not be compatible. The first time I had to deal with these two was over an incident in a specials class. I was not present at the start but was called to assist. When I arrived they were separated. Floss was removed by Duck to the main office and she was working to calm him down. My job was to help subdue Stretch. When the Big B arrived Stretch was slowly calming but if things turned badly again I was told by the Big B that a school system security officer just happened to be in the building if needed. A short while later the officer arrived just as we were releasing Stretch. When he stood up he immediately started to walk away from us. The officer stated where do you think you are going? Stretch continue and the officer said to stop which did not happen. Just as Stretch exited the room the officer grab him and directed him to the wall and then secured him against the wall. When Stretch relaxed again the officer escorted him to Big B's office. What preceded all of this anger was relayed to me later in the day. Floss and Stretch got angry at each other in specials. Floss angrily approached Stretch with Stretch saying to him you want to fight me and then go ahead an hit me. Things went badly after that.
My second encounter with Floss and Stretch came a few days later as I was called to assist in their classroom. When I arrived Floss was partially out of the classroom and being help by two adults with a third adult immediately behind them. When I looked at him he was angry, very angry. As I approached he let a out a very intense and with anger in his eyes the following, why does he always have to bother me? Duck was present and I asked how I could help. She said step into the classroom and help where needed. When I stepped in Stretch was relatively calm as Oreo was speaking to him. I checked with Oreo on what was needed and she said they were fine. As I exited the classroom Duck was walking down the hallway with Floss with the goal of getting him to relax.
Last week Gnu received an outside call in the classroom and was told a new scholar will be arriving in a few days. When she hung up the phone she told me about it with a look of concern on her face. I asked if she was given any information on how our new scholar behaves and she said no but I'll have it shortly. Later in the day I passed the Big B in the administrative area and asked her if she knew about our new scholar. She responded no with a look of not concern but frustration that once again a decision was made to bring a new scholar into the school with her knowing first. The next day a guest walked into the room, totally ignores me and gets Gnu's attention. I'm busy doing academics with another scholar so I have to wait to hear about our new scholar. When our guests departs Gnu shows me a hand written sheet of paper with specifics on our new scholar. After reading the paper my quiet response was Yikes! I hand her the paper and she says to me why would they assign that type of scholar to this room? My response, I'm not sure. Please note that Gnu has been a classroom teacher a total of ten school days when this event occurred. Please also note that our new scholar has not been in a school for three years and comes to us from an organization that addresses emotional and psychological issues.
Although our new scholar comes to us with some serious issues that makes me nervous I'm going into a wait and see attitude. Why? Because twice before we received new scholars with disturbing Individual Education Plans (IEP's) and their behavior has never matched what the IEP indicated. I hope this is the case with our new scholar but if the worse case scenario appears I have to seriously question why anyone would assign a scholar with emotional and psychological issues to a new teacher.
Like Gnu the teacher in the other ED classroom is new but will be faced with a huge obstacle, Floss and Stretch in the same classroom. These two are not compatible and I sense that Stretch already has figured out how to send Floss into an eruption. The term to describe what is going on is called fishing. Last school year Yo! was the fisherman with Floss taking the bait many times. This year with Stretch playing the role of fisherman the situation is much more series as Stretch also has serious anger control issues which is something Yo! did not have.
Individuals far removed from the classroom made a decision to add two scholars to our school and there are indications that the decision was made without any feedback from our school. From my perspective that doesn't make any sense and a simple, candid conversation by both parties could have avoided the situation that is brewing right now. What happens is an unknown but it will be interesting to watch. What I know for sure is there are two very incompatible scholars in the other ED classroom and delays in taking action to separate them is risky and should not happen.
Week three is in the books and I'd like to say again to everyone thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
I think I'll start with the guest scholars that I encountered recently. One of them is Floss who is a scholar I worked with for two years. The other scholar, I'll call him Stretch, arrived after the school year started and I've already had two encounters with him. One minor and one serious enough that I was called to assist another male teacher subdue him. Both of these scholar can get angry very quickly and I can tell you with no uncertain terms that are not and will not be compatible. The first time I had to deal with these two was over an incident in a specials class. I was not present at the start but was called to assist. When I arrived they were separated. Floss was removed by Duck to the main office and she was working to calm him down. My job was to help subdue Stretch. When the Big B arrived Stretch was slowly calming but if things turned badly again I was told by the Big B that a school system security officer just happened to be in the building if needed. A short while later the officer arrived just as we were releasing Stretch. When he stood up he immediately started to walk away from us. The officer stated where do you think you are going? Stretch continue and the officer said to stop which did not happen. Just as Stretch exited the room the officer grab him and directed him to the wall and then secured him against the wall. When Stretch relaxed again the officer escorted him to Big B's office. What preceded all of this anger was relayed to me later in the day. Floss and Stretch got angry at each other in specials. Floss angrily approached Stretch with Stretch saying to him you want to fight me and then go ahead an hit me. Things went badly after that.
My second encounter with Floss and Stretch came a few days later as I was called to assist in their classroom. When I arrived Floss was partially out of the classroom and being help by two adults with a third adult immediately behind them. When I looked at him he was angry, very angry. As I approached he let a out a very intense and with anger in his eyes the following, why does he always have to bother me? Duck was present and I asked how I could help. She said step into the classroom and help where needed. When I stepped in Stretch was relatively calm as Oreo was speaking to him. I checked with Oreo on what was needed and she said they were fine. As I exited the classroom Duck was walking down the hallway with Floss with the goal of getting him to relax.
Last week Gnu received an outside call in the classroom and was told a new scholar will be arriving in a few days. When she hung up the phone she told me about it with a look of concern on her face. I asked if she was given any information on how our new scholar behaves and she said no but I'll have it shortly. Later in the day I passed the Big B in the administrative area and asked her if she knew about our new scholar. She responded no with a look of not concern but frustration that once again a decision was made to bring a new scholar into the school with her knowing first. The next day a guest walked into the room, totally ignores me and gets Gnu's attention. I'm busy doing academics with another scholar so I have to wait to hear about our new scholar. When our guests departs Gnu shows me a hand written sheet of paper with specifics on our new scholar. After reading the paper my quiet response was Yikes! I hand her the paper and she says to me why would they assign that type of scholar to this room? My response, I'm not sure. Please note that Gnu has been a classroom teacher a total of ten school days when this event occurred. Please also note that our new scholar has not been in a school for three years and comes to us from an organization that addresses emotional and psychological issues.
Although our new scholar comes to us with some serious issues that makes me nervous I'm going into a wait and see attitude. Why? Because twice before we received new scholars with disturbing Individual Education Plans (IEP's) and their behavior has never matched what the IEP indicated. I hope this is the case with our new scholar but if the worse case scenario appears I have to seriously question why anyone would assign a scholar with emotional and psychological issues to a new teacher.
Like Gnu the teacher in the other ED classroom is new but will be faced with a huge obstacle, Floss and Stretch in the same classroom. These two are not compatible and I sense that Stretch already has figured out how to send Floss into an eruption. The term to describe what is going on is called fishing. Last school year Yo! was the fisherman with Floss taking the bait many times. This year with Stretch playing the role of fisherman the situation is much more series as Stretch also has serious anger control issues which is something Yo! did not have.
Individuals far removed from the classroom made a decision to add two scholars to our school and there are indications that the decision was made without any feedback from our school. From my perspective that doesn't make any sense and a simple, candid conversation by both parties could have avoided the situation that is brewing right now. What happens is an unknown but it will be interesting to watch. What I know for sure is there are two very incompatible scholars in the other ED classroom and delays in taking action to separate them is risky and should not happen.
Week three is in the books and I'd like to say again to everyone thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Irritations, Accommodations and Celebrations
Apparently is it starting and I know just when it started. About a week ago I became the proud owner of my very own Medicare card and it appears that once you have one brain failure starts. In my last post I talked about firsts for the year and I realized earlier today (Sunday) that I forgot one. It's probably the biggest first of the school year and I even wrote it down on a note card so I wouldn't forget it. Despite my best effort with the note card the note card was rendered pretty much useless if you pile a bunch of other stuff on top of it and can't find it. I guess you can right this off as a human error. Last week for the first time a test was administered to all four scholars. It was a vocabulary test that required the correct spelling of the word plus knowing the definition of the word. The results were a little disappointing but I'm good with that if for no other reason than all four scholars took the test without a lot of whining.
Irritations
There are two. One is pretty trivial but the other one bugs me. This is my third year as a paid employee of the school. For three consecutive years my name has been spelled wrong. In some instances the first name is spelled wrong. In another instance my last name was spelled wrong. The worst case scenario is both of my names are spelled wrong. One final comment on spelling my name. On the wall right outside the classroom the name of the teacher and the name of the instructional assistant is posted for all to see. Guess which name is spelled wrong? Here is my other irritation and as reminder this is my third year in this classroom. We occasionally have guests from the school system central office walk into the classroom. They stop just inside the door so as not to interrupt the classroom and when doing so they are with six feet of me. You'd think that they would at least look at me or acknowledge my presence. No, they don't say a word to me and wait to speak with the teacher. I spent thirty four years working for a management services company in the service industry. For many years I was in a leadership position and I figured out something real quick as a leader. If you want to succeed you are dependent on a lot of people doing their job real well. If you want people to do their job then you better take time to recognize them as individuals and thank them for doing what they do. From my view at the back of the room that doesn't happen when guests from the school system arrive as I'm pretty much ignored. As I sit here thinking about it it's kind of sad. I view myself as an obstacle remover for both the teacher and the scholars. If the teacher is overwhelmed with the minutia of worthless crap that needs to be completed and posted in a classroom I'll do it. If a scholar is struggling academically I'll part my medicare card carrying backside on the floor right next to them and help. Why? Because it's my job and I like my job. So I'm being guardedly optimistic that maybe one day these guests well actually take the time to introduce themselves to me and say thanks for doing what you do. Those are my two irritations. One is trivial and the other one bugs me. I'll let you decide which is which.
Accommodations
Earlier this week I was asked a question and I didn't have a response. For those of you that know me very well that doesn't happen very often. The question had to do with scholar accommodations that are allowed to help them academically. Gnu walker over to my desk and said why do Yo! and The Collector have an accommodation that states they can use a calculator? I kind of shrug my shoulders and said I"m not sure. She goes on to say if they can us a calculator for multiplication then why do I even bother teaching multiplication facts? She continues and says to me do you know that when taking tests you can read the problem to them, especially if it's a story problem? If someone can read the problem to the scholar when do they expect the scholar to actually learn how to read? Sensing some frustration I say I don't know but it bothers me that these accommodations are allowed. I go on to say our scholars have emotional disabilities and not intelligence disabilities so why these accommodations exist is an unknown to me. She then said to me they may have an accommodation to use a calculator but I'll determine when they can use it. If we are doing daily math sheets we'll use pencil and paper but during tests they can use the calculator. I like that attitude. I smile at her and say sounds good to me. Let's get to work.
Celebrations
I'm thinking I need to provide some background information before I proceed as a person that is not part of the staff this year will be talked about. I'll do my best to keep it brief. PhD(?)Sparty was a behavior therapist at our school last year. She left and return to her home state. While here last year she had an intern named IvyL. IvyL took PhD(?)Sparty's position this school year. When I stated this blog last March I needed to come up with fictitious names for the scholars and staff members. I chose PhD Sparty initially but realized that the PhD was just a goal and not reality so I added the question mark to come up with PhD(?)Sparty as a name. I sure hope that doesn't have everyone confused.
Ok, let's continue. IvyL walked into the room one morning and said to me that PhD(?)Sparty is requesting that the question mark be removed from her name as she was accepted as a PhD candidate. I tell IvyL to tell PhD(?)Sparty nice try as the idea is to complete the PhD requirements. Being technologically challenged I'm a bit surprised when IvyL pulls out her cell phone and speaks into it saying Schultz said nice try. Hmmm! That is all you have to do these days to send a message? I guess I better update from my flip top phone. Later that evening I thought about my friend being accepted as a PhD candidate and realized that this was a pretty big deal as you just don't walk into a university and say I want to earn a PhD. So I've decided for the very first time to change someone's name and you are going to see it for the very first time right now, PhD(*)Sparty. There, when you complete the degree requirements give me a call and I'll drop the asterisk. I know, that is so wrong. By the way I spoke with PhD(*)Sparty earlier in the week and she told me when she got the news that she was accepted she got very emotional to include tears. As she should because getting accepted is a huge accomplished. So to my very special friend I say congratulations.
One final comment and then I'm out. On Tuesday of this week a new scholar arrived in the classroom. I've decided to call him The King. Please also note that The King arrived with a mentor that spends the entire day with him in our classroom. I'm going to call the mentor Rapper. It's going to get interesting. Details to follow.
Thanks again for reading my blog.
Irritations
There are two. One is pretty trivial but the other one bugs me. This is my third year as a paid employee of the school. For three consecutive years my name has been spelled wrong. In some instances the first name is spelled wrong. In another instance my last name was spelled wrong. The worst case scenario is both of my names are spelled wrong. One final comment on spelling my name. On the wall right outside the classroom the name of the teacher and the name of the instructional assistant is posted for all to see. Guess which name is spelled wrong? Here is my other irritation and as reminder this is my third year in this classroom. We occasionally have guests from the school system central office walk into the classroom. They stop just inside the door so as not to interrupt the classroom and when doing so they are with six feet of me. You'd think that they would at least look at me or acknowledge my presence. No, they don't say a word to me and wait to speak with the teacher. I spent thirty four years working for a management services company in the service industry. For many years I was in a leadership position and I figured out something real quick as a leader. If you want to succeed you are dependent on a lot of people doing their job real well. If you want people to do their job then you better take time to recognize them as individuals and thank them for doing what they do. From my view at the back of the room that doesn't happen when guests from the school system arrive as I'm pretty much ignored. As I sit here thinking about it it's kind of sad. I view myself as an obstacle remover for both the teacher and the scholars. If the teacher is overwhelmed with the minutia of worthless crap that needs to be completed and posted in a classroom I'll do it. If a scholar is struggling academically I'll part my medicare card carrying backside on the floor right next to them and help. Why? Because it's my job and I like my job. So I'm being guardedly optimistic that maybe one day these guests well actually take the time to introduce themselves to me and say thanks for doing what you do. Those are my two irritations. One is trivial and the other one bugs me. I'll let you decide which is which.
Accommodations
Earlier this week I was asked a question and I didn't have a response. For those of you that know me very well that doesn't happen very often. The question had to do with scholar accommodations that are allowed to help them academically. Gnu walker over to my desk and said why do Yo! and The Collector have an accommodation that states they can use a calculator? I kind of shrug my shoulders and said I"m not sure. She goes on to say if they can us a calculator for multiplication then why do I even bother teaching multiplication facts? She continues and says to me do you know that when taking tests you can read the problem to them, especially if it's a story problem? If someone can read the problem to the scholar when do they expect the scholar to actually learn how to read? Sensing some frustration I say I don't know but it bothers me that these accommodations are allowed. I go on to say our scholars have emotional disabilities and not intelligence disabilities so why these accommodations exist is an unknown to me. She then said to me they may have an accommodation to use a calculator but I'll determine when they can use it. If we are doing daily math sheets we'll use pencil and paper but during tests they can use the calculator. I like that attitude. I smile at her and say sounds good to me. Let's get to work.
Celebrations
I'm thinking I need to provide some background information before I proceed as a person that is not part of the staff this year will be talked about. I'll do my best to keep it brief. PhD(?)Sparty was a behavior therapist at our school last year. She left and return to her home state. While here last year she had an intern named IvyL. IvyL took PhD(?)Sparty's position this school year. When I stated this blog last March I needed to come up with fictitious names for the scholars and staff members. I chose PhD Sparty initially but realized that the PhD was just a goal and not reality so I added the question mark to come up with PhD(?)Sparty as a name. I sure hope that doesn't have everyone confused.
Ok, let's continue. IvyL walked into the room one morning and said to me that PhD(?)Sparty is requesting that the question mark be removed from her name as she was accepted as a PhD candidate. I tell IvyL to tell PhD(?)Sparty nice try as the idea is to complete the PhD requirements. Being technologically challenged I'm a bit surprised when IvyL pulls out her cell phone and speaks into it saying Schultz said nice try. Hmmm! That is all you have to do these days to send a message? I guess I better update from my flip top phone. Later that evening I thought about my friend being accepted as a PhD candidate and realized that this was a pretty big deal as you just don't walk into a university and say I want to earn a PhD. So I've decided for the very first time to change someone's name and you are going to see it for the very first time right now, PhD(*)Sparty. There, when you complete the degree requirements give me a call and I'll drop the asterisk. I know, that is so wrong. By the way I spoke with PhD(*)Sparty earlier in the week and she told me when she got the news that she was accepted she got very emotional to include tears. As she should because getting accepted is a huge accomplished. So to my very special friend I say congratulations.
One final comment and then I'm out. On Tuesday of this week a new scholar arrived in the classroom. I've decided to call him The King. Please also note that The King arrived with a mentor that spends the entire day with him in our classroom. I'm going to call the mentor Rapper. It's going to get interesting. Details to follow.
Thanks again for reading my blog.
Monday, August 18, 2014
My Disclaimer For A Second Time
Recent events made me think that I need to post my disclaimer for a second time. If you've read it previously I asked for your patients. Why am I doing this? I'll tell you in a couple minutes.
I do not have a teaching degree. I do not have a teaching license. I am not a teacher. With that said I guarantee you that you will find grammatical errors in my posts. I also need to mention that any name that you read is total fictitious and is solely a product of my imagination so if you think you know someone you are mistaken. I'd also like to mention that I don't have an agenda. I am not affiliated with a union and I can say with no uncertain terms that I am not a politician. What I am is a gray haired old guy who unretired to take a position as an instructional assistant at the grade school level. What I can also tell you is the events that I talk about are real.
Why did I do this? Today while sitting in an exercise room getting ready to do a cycling class a good friend of mine, I think I'll call her Ms. Gun Powder and Lead, walked in and said I hear you are getting three new students in your classroom. That caught me a little off guard before I realized what she was talking about and I replied yes I'm getting a new student. The interesting part is that at no point did I mention to Ms. Gun Powder and Lead anything about a new student. However, I did tell a friend of hers who I'll call Ms. Trouble Maker about the new student and apparently she had to discuss the matter with Ms. Gun Powder and Lead. Both of these individuals are school teachers and Ms. Gun Powder and Lead ask for my blog address so I gave it to her. Knowing the potential that two if not more school teachers could start reading the blog I reposted my disclaimer.
Thanks for reading my blog. If you are a school teacher I'd like to say thanks for doing what you do. This is the third year of my view from the back of the room and I can say in no uncertain terms schools teacher have a tremendous challenge educating the scholars of our community and I now know how much effort they put into their jobs daily. I take my hat off to all school teachers as you are truly special people.
I do not have a teaching degree. I do not have a teaching license. I am not a teacher. With that said I guarantee you that you will find grammatical errors in my posts. I also need to mention that any name that you read is total fictitious and is solely a product of my imagination so if you think you know someone you are mistaken. I'd also like to mention that I don't have an agenda. I am not affiliated with a union and I can say with no uncertain terms that I am not a politician. What I am is a gray haired old guy who unretired to take a position as an instructional assistant at the grade school level. What I can also tell you is the events that I talk about are real.
Why did I do this? Today while sitting in an exercise room getting ready to do a cycling class a good friend of mine, I think I'll call her Ms. Gun Powder and Lead, walked in and said I hear you are getting three new students in your classroom. That caught me a little off guard before I realized what she was talking about and I replied yes I'm getting a new student. The interesting part is that at no point did I mention to Ms. Gun Powder and Lead anything about a new student. However, I did tell a friend of hers who I'll call Ms. Trouble Maker about the new student and apparently she had to discuss the matter with Ms. Gun Powder and Lead. Both of these individuals are school teachers and Ms. Gun Powder and Lead ask for my blog address so I gave it to her. Knowing the potential that two if not more school teachers could start reading the blog I reposted my disclaimer.
Thanks for reading my blog. If you are a school teacher I'd like to say thanks for doing what you do. This is the third year of my view from the back of the room and I can say in no uncertain terms schools teacher have a tremendous challenge educating the scholars of our community and I now know how much effort they put into their jobs daily. I take my hat off to all school teachers as you are truly special people.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Who Pooped In The........
Did I mention that I really like to read out loud? Did I mention that while reading out loud I will thoroughly make a fool of myself if that is what it takes to get a scholar to pay attention? Well I do and I have and I've been doing it for over a week. It even gets better because if you read our class schedule that is posted in three different locations in the classroom it states that at 1:00pm Mr. Schultz reads. That is so cool. I wasn't sure what the scholars reaction would be so I choose books that I thought would interest them. Here are a few that I've read. "Salt In My Shoes" that was written by Michael Jordan's mother with help from his sister. "Mr. Peabody's Apple" that was written by Madonna (yes Elaine that Madonna) is a story about a man who is falsely accused of stealing an apple. "Owl Moon" is a story about a father who takes his daughter on a midnight walk in the woods to search for the Great Horned Owl. Yes, I imitated the owl call. Do you want to hear it? You do! Whoo, whoo, who, who, who, whoooooo. Pretty good hey! All three books are fairly short but have great illustrations that I like to show and talk about. After I finish each book I ask for a thumbs up or a thumbs down on the book. So far I've received all thumbs up. Gnu joins the group when I read and one day she decided to test the scholars recall about the story. She took a piece of art paper and folded it in half long way and then cut out four tabs on the top fold and labeled the tabs Characters, Setting, Problem and Solution. She then met with the scholars and told them to write down the information requested on each tab on the second page of the folded sheet of art paper. I was fully prepared to hear whining but was pleasantly surprised that each scholar started working on the task. Gnu and I had to help a lot with writing complete sentences and correcting spelling but each scholar completed the task and then enjoy talking about the story and what they wrote. This may should pretty trivial to some but let me tell you this. The reading and book summary writing kept the scholars on task for over forty five minutes and given the challenges our scholars face staying focused and having to write anything that is a huge block of time.
Before moving on I think I'll tell you about the most popular book I've read. This book was so interesting that the scholars had to get up from where they were seated and stand behind me to see the pictures. So every one knows I have a copy of this book at home and I've read it to my daughter so don't go getting in a huff. "Who Pooped In The Park?" is a story that takes place in Yosemite National Park and yes, it is about poop identification. It is also about paw print identification, animal identification and determining what direction an animal is walking so you can avoid contact. Twice while reading and looking at pictures of poop we were delayed. The first time was when we were looking at "buffalo chips". When I told the scholars you could throw them like a frisbee when they were thoroughly dried out they didn't believe me. The second time was when we were looking at a comparison picture of deer and rabbit poop in comparison to jelly beans. So you know the jelly bean display was in color just like jelly beans are supposed to be. I identified the rabbit and deer poop first and then asked if anyone had any idea what the third poop was. No one ventured a guess. I had to tell them it was jelly beans. Pitiful!
Time to change the subject. This week was a week of firsts. The first scholar, Uh-Uh-Uh, was absent. The first object was thrown, EM. For the first time a scholar used a somewhat aggressive behavior towards himself by hitting himself in the head with a small white board, also EM. Gnu put a reward mechanism in place that uses play money and we had a scholar steal some of the money and put it in his envelope, Yo! Twice! We had our first seizure, Yo! We had a scholar turn in a writing assigned and when Gnu tried to read what was written the handwriting was so poor she crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the wastebasket. She then told the scholar to rewrite the paper so it looks like something written by a fourth grader, The Collector. This action really put a smile on my face. Did I mention that so far I really like this teacher? We had our first bus incident on Wednesday morning, Yo! We had our second bus incident on Wednesday afternoon, Yo! We had our first bus suspension, guess who. We had our first announcement that we will be getting a new student, Monday or Tuesday of next week. As I sit here thinking about the past week I'm thinking behavioral issues are increasing but it doesn't bother me as my view from the back of the room is of scholars with behavioral issues. As you've read about the behavioral issues I don't want you to get the impression that we had a bad week. We didn't. We had an excellent week academically and the reason I returned was to do academics so I'm feeling good. Opps! Quick delete "good" and enter "great" as after all "good" refers to how food tastes and we are talking about feelings and not food.
I hope my wife doesn't read this next paragraph as she will cringe. So you know she has never and will never step foot into this restaurant. Occasionally on a Friday I'll stop on my way to school and have breakfast. I don't have a lot of time so I stop at a fast food joint that I'm sure everyone has heard about. It's called White Castle. During this visit I was immediately told as I stepped up to the counter that I had to pay cash only as the computer (cash register) was down. No problem as the underwear fairy stopped recently and left me some cash in my dresser drawer. So I placed my order for two breakfast sandwiches, a medium hash round and a small coffee. Before I go any farther I have to mention that I am wearing a shirt with our school name and mascot on it. The person taking my order turns and walks to a chart on the wall and quickly scans her finger down the list. She then turns to me and says how does $3.50 sound? I said it sounds great but to be honest with you I think you should charge me $5.50 as I've ordered this meal before.
She agrees and then notices my shirt and says, hey I graduated from that school. The only thing I could think of to say was really.
There is a big push nationally to get workers in the fast food industry a raise to $15.00 per hour. The argument is that people can't make a living making minimum wage. I'm thinking if you think you are worth $15.00 you sure as hell better be able to add four numbers together and then add a percentage for sales tax when your cash register breaks. If you can't then when your paycheck arrives it will contain your pay check with a pay rate of around $8.50 and an application to go back to school so you can learn how to simple math.
Thank you again for reading my blog. By the way, I've had readers from twelve different countries visit my blog so far. I wonder if there are White Castle's in Central American and Europe?
Before moving on I think I'll tell you about the most popular book I've read. This book was so interesting that the scholars had to get up from where they were seated and stand behind me to see the pictures. So every one knows I have a copy of this book at home and I've read it to my daughter so don't go getting in a huff. "Who Pooped In The Park?" is a story that takes place in Yosemite National Park and yes, it is about poop identification. It is also about paw print identification, animal identification and determining what direction an animal is walking so you can avoid contact. Twice while reading and looking at pictures of poop we were delayed. The first time was when we were looking at "buffalo chips". When I told the scholars you could throw them like a frisbee when they were thoroughly dried out they didn't believe me. The second time was when we were looking at a comparison picture of deer and rabbit poop in comparison to jelly beans. So you know the jelly bean display was in color just like jelly beans are supposed to be. I identified the rabbit and deer poop first and then asked if anyone had any idea what the third poop was. No one ventured a guess. I had to tell them it was jelly beans. Pitiful!
Time to change the subject. This week was a week of firsts. The first scholar, Uh-Uh-Uh, was absent. The first object was thrown, EM. For the first time a scholar used a somewhat aggressive behavior towards himself by hitting himself in the head with a small white board, also EM. Gnu put a reward mechanism in place that uses play money and we had a scholar steal some of the money and put it in his envelope, Yo! Twice! We had our first seizure, Yo! We had a scholar turn in a writing assigned and when Gnu tried to read what was written the handwriting was so poor she crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the wastebasket. She then told the scholar to rewrite the paper so it looks like something written by a fourth grader, The Collector. This action really put a smile on my face. Did I mention that so far I really like this teacher? We had our first bus incident on Wednesday morning, Yo! We had our second bus incident on Wednesday afternoon, Yo! We had our first bus suspension, guess who. We had our first announcement that we will be getting a new student, Monday or Tuesday of next week. As I sit here thinking about the past week I'm thinking behavioral issues are increasing but it doesn't bother me as my view from the back of the room is of scholars with behavioral issues. As you've read about the behavioral issues I don't want you to get the impression that we had a bad week. We didn't. We had an excellent week academically and the reason I returned was to do academics so I'm feeling good. Opps! Quick delete "good" and enter "great" as after all "good" refers to how food tastes and we are talking about feelings and not food.
I hope my wife doesn't read this next paragraph as she will cringe. So you know she has never and will never step foot into this restaurant. Occasionally on a Friday I'll stop on my way to school and have breakfast. I don't have a lot of time so I stop at a fast food joint that I'm sure everyone has heard about. It's called White Castle. During this visit I was immediately told as I stepped up to the counter that I had to pay cash only as the computer (cash register) was down. No problem as the underwear fairy stopped recently and left me some cash in my dresser drawer. So I placed my order for two breakfast sandwiches, a medium hash round and a small coffee. Before I go any farther I have to mention that I am wearing a shirt with our school name and mascot on it. The person taking my order turns and walks to a chart on the wall and quickly scans her finger down the list. She then turns to me and says how does $3.50 sound? I said it sounds great but to be honest with you I think you should charge me $5.50 as I've ordered this meal before.
She agrees and then notices my shirt and says, hey I graduated from that school. The only thing I could think of to say was really.
There is a big push nationally to get workers in the fast food industry a raise to $15.00 per hour. The argument is that people can't make a living making minimum wage. I'm thinking if you think you are worth $15.00 you sure as hell better be able to add four numbers together and then add a percentage for sales tax when your cash register breaks. If you can't then when your paycheck arrives it will contain your pay check with a pay rate of around $8.50 and an application to go back to school so you can learn how to simple math.
Thank you again for reading my blog. By the way, I've had readers from twelve different countries visit my blog so far. I wonder if there are White Castle's in Central American and Europe?
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Five Down and One Hundred and Seventy Five To Go
God is going to die today. Those are not my words. That is a statement made by a 1st grade scholar to a member of the school staff and was relayed to me. Not exactly how I wanted to start the year. I thought after three years at this school I might be a little thicker skinned and those odd to totally bizarre statements would not affect me. This one did. Man, what could possibly make a 1st grade scholar say something like that. Hopefully our school psychologists, social worker, behavior therapist, behavior specialist and teacher can react quickly and help this young scholar.
A new school year has started and I feel the need to remind people that the events that are talked about are real but the names are totally made up. If your imagination runs wild and you think you know someone you are mistaken.
That huge, really big desk with the gold trim is now occupied by Gnu. Phd?Sparty has been replaced by IvyL and I couldn't be happier. The man cave that I was part of last year has dissolved as we have a female in the room this year. I still have my view from the back of the room and I'm happy to be there.
Here are the scholars.
A new school year has started and I feel the need to remind people that the events that are talked about are real but the names are totally made up. If your imagination runs wild and you think you know someone you are mistaken.
That huge, really big desk with the gold trim is now occupied by Gnu. Phd?Sparty has been replaced by IvyL and I couldn't be happier. The man cave that I was part of last year has dissolved as we have a female in the room this year. I still have my view from the back of the room and I'm happy to be there.
Here are the scholars.
- The Collector has returned and takes on the role as the elder statesman of the room and is now in the 4th grade.
- Yo! has returned and is in the 4th grade.
- EM has returned and has been promoted to the 3rd grade. If you read my last blog you will know my disappointment in his promotion,
- Uh-Uh-Uh is new to the classroom and is in the 2nd grade.
- The Big B is still in charge.
- IvyL supports both of the Emotional Disability classrooms.
- Oreo also supports both of the Emotional Disability classrooms plus numerous other scholars with behavior issues. She may have the most challenging job in the school and that is why I support her every time she calls.
- Duck is a teacher that supports all the Emotional Disability scholars and other teachers that have scholars that present serious challenges.
- BaseG is now part of the elite staff with a big office downtown. I'm glad to mention that he has been on site and involved with the beginning of the school year. That has helped tremendously with the transition that took place at the front of the room.
- The In School Suspension position that was filled by Gee last year is not occupied. In fact our school staff plan does not even show the position as vacant.
All though this may be premature I think I'll introduce a couple scholars that I probably will get to know real well by the end of the year. Keep in mind these scholars are not assigned to my room but may enter on occasion for time outs and if necessary get to meet the inside of the time out room.
- WhiteE is a kindergarten scholar. I've met him three times in the last two days. Any angry scholar who has kicked me in the shin several times.
- Grrrrr! is in the 1st grade. I've met him twice. On the first encounter he was with Oreo and she called me for some assistance with him. He was so angry that he was practically rigid. Fists clenched, jaw set so tight his teeth had to hurt and he'd just growl at me. He also kicked me twice which led to his being introduced to our time out room. While in the time out room he got to meet the Big B. My second encounter with Grrrr! was today (Friday morning) as Oreo again contacted me for assistance. When I arrived Grrrr!'s parental unit was in the room. The parental unit was meeting with Oreo to put together a plan to work on Grrrr!'s issues. As the parental unit tried to leave Grrrr! insisted on going home with her so my job was to keep him in the room so his parental unit could leave. When I walked in he immediately went into his angry looked. I said good morning to him. He proceeded to back up against the far wall. He then grabbed Oreo's office chair on wheels and banged it into other chairs in the room. I stepped up between him and the other chairs so he decided to bang the chair into my legs. I mentioned that he needed to make better decisions or he would end up in the time out room again. He decided to ram the chair into me one more time and then retreat to the far back wall. He then proceeded to use all of the chairs in the room to build a defensive wall to hide behind so I couldn't get to him. His wall was a little ragged so I pointed out a few gaps in the wall where I could get through. He walked up and adjusted there chairs per my instructions. When I mentioned that there were chairs on my side of the wall that he could use he came around his wall and started to push the chairs into position. They were a little heavier and on carpet so I helped him move them. When he realized that he was on the wrong side of his defensive wall he retreated. Right after that another teacher (Duck) arrived to help Oreo and I returned to my classroom. One last time, I don't make this stuff up.
Here are a few highlights from the week. On a daily basis the scholars will have Yoga lessons from either IvyL or Oreo. The computers are still in the room but they have not been turned on. Not once and that will not change for the foreseeable future. Why? Yo! got caught trying to log on. The keyboards have mysteriously disappeared. I like that as the computers were nothing but a source of irritation last year. The afternoon choice time is fifteen minutes and the activity has been a board game called Life. Our Group Social Skills session that is led by IvyL and Oreo has been expanded from one day a week to five days a week. I spoke with The Collector's parental unit. She informed me that he is out a medication and she can't find the prescription. That caught me off guard as so far this week The Collector has been a pretty good scholar. In the past when he was off his medication he was very active/disruptive and could not focus on anything for more than a minute. So his good behavior without medication makes me wonder what changed. EM has started to write his complete first and last name on his papers. That is a first for him and he seems pretty pleased with himself for being able to do that. Now if we can just get him to read. Uh-Uh-Uh who we thought was going to be a handful has been quiet and on task all week. In fact if we had a student of the week it would be Uh-Uh-Uh. We'll see how long that lasts.
That's it. I'm out. Thank you again for visiting my blog.
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