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.
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