I missed my first day of school this past week. I was doing my best all year to get to the classroom because if I didn't Gnu would receive little help and that is not good. Whatever ailed me started on Sunday afternoon as I slept all afternoon and then went to bed early. Come Monday morning I new immediately I wasn't going to make it. I sent a text to Gnu about being ill and missing the day. Her response was quick, "Oh no!" As I sit here thinking about her response I wonder if the "oh no" was sent as a sympathy comment about being sick or an "oh no" as I'm stuck in this chaotic classroom by myself. I suspect it was a little of both.
I felt a little better on Tuesday and went to school. As I was preparing the attendance form for Tuesday I asked Gnu about Monday's attendance. She responded The Collector is still suspended, Uh-Uh-Uh had a temperature of 103 degrees and was sent home early but everyone else was her. She then told me River was suspended for three days. Why? He tried to stab me with some scissors. Are you serious? Yes, it happened in art class. The scholars were working on an art project that required cutting. River took a pair of scissors from a tray of scissors in the classroom and was using them. When the art teacher reminded the scholars to return their scissors to scissor tray at the end of the class River didn't return his. Gnu reminded him to return the scissors and he responded, no these are mine. Gnu said no they are not yours because you just took them from the scissor tray a few minutes ago. River, now getting agitated, no these are mine. Gnu moves to take the scissors and he tries to stab her. Fortunately she got a hold of his scissor hand and eventually removed them. A short time later River's parental unit arrives at school to pick him up. This parental unit arrives without a belt, pants unbuttoned at the waist and zipper all the way down and removes his scholar from the building. As a reminder, the names are fictitious but the events are real.
Health wise I wasn't feeling my best on Tuesday or Wednesday but after what happened on Monday I wasn't going to miss another day. Tuesday was an uneventful day but Wednesday was pretty rough. IvyL was leading our daily group session that is designed to improve the social skills of our scholars and things were not going well. Normally during group I hang out in the back of the room as there are usually two or three adults in the front of the room. Today Oreo was elsewhere and Gnu was in a special education conference so I moved to the front of the room. The scholars were instructed to draw a shield and then write some goals for themselves for the year 2015 on the shield. It sounds simple enough except colored markers are needed and the squabbling over who got what colored maker was getting very animated. IvyL decided to shut down the animation by collecting all the makers and said to the scholars when you can sit quietly we'll start again. With everyone quiet IvyL says to MiniJ pick a marker. MiniJ picked blue and that is all it took. NoFouls erupted over the color of a marker that he wanted. Note, there were two blue markers but he had to have that one. The first desk that got flipped over was Yo!'s, followed by his own, then River's and finally Uh-Uh-Uh's. I was sitting near Uh-Uh-Uh's and turned to keep an eye on him. So far no one was at risked of injury so IvyL and I just let him vent his anger. After he flipped over Uh-Uh-Uh's desk he started sliding it toward me. He then picked it up off the ground about a foot and a half and tossed it directly at me. I made it known to him in no uncertain terms that you don't pick up a desk and toss it at either an adult or a student. He was then quickly guided to the timeout room as he was about to break an anger rule, don't hurt others and don't hurt yourself.
Within a few minutes of this eruption Gnu returned to the room and an explanation was given to her as to what happened. The group session was over so everyone was told to return to their desk and sit quietly as it was almost time to go home. Prior to going home each day Gnu fills out the scholars behavior sheet. The color choices are blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Blue is on the good end of the spectrum and red is on the bad end. When NoFouls saw his red designation he erupts again. This time he heads to his cubby to get his jacket and backpack and is storming out the door with MiniJ directly behind him. They both are heading for the bus but it's not time to go to the bus. I'm following them with Gnu following me. When we get to the gym she redirects them back to the classroom as they are interrupting a class that is using the gym. On the way back to the classroom I stop to use the restroom. When I do get to the classroom Oreo is standing at the door. She tells me that Gnu is restraining NoFouls as he shouted at her to "shut up you stupid bitch" and then charged directly at her. Gnu asks me to help restrain him as he is doing his best to kick her. I assist as Oreo is calling for additional help. Duck arrives as she is the acting Big B today. Her first directive is to hold the bus until we can get NoFouls settled down. When she is off the phone I call her for assistance as NoFouls is doing his best to ram the back of his head into Gnu's face. In about ten minutes it's over and NoFouls is heading to the bus as if nothing happened. He is also suspended for the next school day.
Despite another challenging week Gnu continues to do her best at improving the lives of these troubled scholars. During the first part of the week she brought in gingerbread house kits for them to decorate. Later in the week we took time to watch a Christmas themed movie and everyone one go to participate in various other fun activities. In the afternoon of the last day of school we had a little party. There was cake and cookies and Gnu purchased a new toy plastic building set that they can use when they earn their choice time for good behavior. The new building set was a huge hit and it was fun to watch them assemble it without getting into arguments. Over the past few weeks Gnu has been taking pictures of the scholars. At times the picture was of an individual scholar. At other times the picture was of a couple scholars working together on a project. As the scholars were preparing to go home for the winter break I found out why she was taking the pictures. When behavior folders were handed out so were the pictures that were framed. The scholars were told that they could give the picture to their parental unit as a Christmas gift. The looks on their faces when they saw their picture was priceless. The first year teacher that I'm working with is also priceless.
For seventeen consecutive days I do not have to enter the classroom. Can I have an amen?
One final comment. I was disappointed about a week ago when the page view statistics for my blog indicated that a long time follower from the Ukraine stopped viewing. Do I know anyone in the Ukraine? No, but this individual has been viewing my blog for quite some time so her/his disappearance was a little disappointing. However, when I logged in today she/he was back. That put a smile on my face.
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