It's Friday, late afternoon, and we just finished week two. Since the arrival of a UPS package at school today, addressed to Gnu, I've been trying to figure out how to do this. My problem is how do I recognize and thank people that requested anonymity when Gnu and I decided to use a website called donorschoose.org to seek financial help with the purchase of iPads for our classroom. As of this writing I still haven't figure out how to do that so I will say this, to anonymous, thank you for your kindness and generosity for supporting our cause. To Kuerbs, Staudy's mom, Mamma D's Mamma, and Mout (it rhymes with ought) thank you for your kindness and generosity. The next few lines are for the donors. We had about forty five minutes left in the day when Gnu picked up the two UPS packages from her desk and sat on the floor in the middle of the classroom. Multiple scholars speaking simultaneously, "Mamma D, what's in the boxes?" Gnu, "you'll have to wait and see but I think you are really going to like this." Gnu barely had the first box open when the scholars started removing the bubble pack. "We got iPads, look, we got iPads, they shouted." MiniJ walking back to me where I have my view from the back of the room, "Mr. Schultz we got iPads, we got iPads Mr. Schultz." "Did you see them?" "Yes, I see them," I say. "Are they for me." I ask? "No Mr. Schultz, they're for the us kids." The two boxes are unpacked. "Mamma D, how do you turn this one?' "Mamma D, how does this work?" They are so excited they are getting careless and Gnu says "hand the iPads to Mr. Schultz and let's move to my desk so we can set them up." The first task, log in to the school corporations WiFi. We get the passcode and it is fifteen characters long and these fifteen characters repeat themselves for times. Ridiculous! Gnu is trying to enter the passcode. So is WaxOn and MiniJ. WaxOn and MiniJ are not successful. Gnu speaking, "oh my God, will you all please be quiet so I can concentrate." The first attempt at getting them quite doesn't work as they are just to excited. Gnu speaking again, "that's enough, hand the iPads to Mr. Schultz and be quiet." Finally the passcode is entered and we are on-line. MiniJ takes the one that Gnu was holding and clicks on a app that records your voice and plays it back. He says something and then he hears his own voice and he and the other scholars are laughing hysterically. I'm pretty certain this is the first time any of them have heard their own voice and all they do is keep laughing. Gnu again, "it's time to go home so hand me the iPads." "Awww, can't we stay at school a little longer?" "No, you're driving me nuts, go get your folders and back packs and go home."
The last blog entry left off with the mini volcano science project so I'll go forward from there. Gnu had a second project that also involved vinegar, backing soda, water, plus a plastic water bottle and a balloon. The project, if done correctly, was to blow up the balloon using the ingredients listed. The vinegar and water go in the water bottle. The backing soda goes in the balloon. The balloon is then fitted over the mouth of the water bottle and the baking soda is released into the water bottle. The first attempt to inflate the balloon failed as the balloon ripped. As Gnu was preparing another balloon, WaxOn had moved a small pile of baking soda directly in front of him. He then said to the other scholars, "watch this." He then bent over with his nose directly above and close to the baking soda and inhaled through his nose. Hmmm! I wonder if I have to explain that to as far east as Europe or as far west as Utah. The second attempt is ready and is a success as the chemical reaction starts and pressure is building forcing the balloon to inflate. The scholars are excited and watching closely. As I approach the table I say, "that balloon is going to explode." I was thoroughly impressed at how quickly they vacated the area and left their teacher to fend for herself. So you know, the balloon inflated quite nicely and did not explode.
I think it is time to introduce you to WaxOn. WaxOn wasn't real excited about his new surroundings. He spent his first few minutes in the classroom just aimlessly wondering around. Finally, Gnu asked him to take a seat as it is time to get to work. WaxOn's response was, "I hate this school, I hate this classroom, I want to be in a classroom with a lot of scholars and not one with retards." The term retards didn't set very well with Gnu and she responded quite quickly that you need to be quiet and take a seat. WaxOn chose instead to go into his defiant mode and spoke very disrespectfully towards Gnu. Now it's my turn as I'm up moving toward him. "That is not how scholars speak to a teacher in this school." "If you want to speak that way to an adult I suggest you talk that way to your mother or father or out in the streets in your neighborhood." "Now take a seat." For the next hour and a half or so he did absolutely nothing despite repeated attempts to get him to participate. Finally, Gnu says to WaxOn "if you continue to just sit there and do nothing than you need to know that you don't get to go to recess and play basketball with everyone else." I guess the terms recess and basketball got his attention as his participation increased.
Throughout the first two weeks of school he has been a challenge. When he doesn't get what he wants he speaks disrespectfully toward Gnu. Interestingly, while he speaks disrespectfully toward Gnu, he does not talk that way to me. When he is told to get to work he often gets defiant and in some instances will do the opposite of what he is asked to do. In one instance, when told to get to work, he stood up, walked over to his cubby (locker), sat down inside of it, and closed the door. If he thought he'd get a rise out of me he was badly mistaken. I'll quote something my mother said to me a long time ago, he can "stay in their until the cows come home from the pasture." When he went to music class for the first time he just wandered around the classroom. The music teacher, being familiar with the type of scholars in our classroom, new exactly what to do, ignore him. At one point he dropped down on the floor and started flopping around like a fish out of water. Again, he was ignored but I bet the rest of the scholars in the music room, who are from a general education classroom, were wondering what is wrong with this retard. One day he was talking to the other scholars and he found out that MiniJ didn't have a mother. Rather than showing some sympathy, he started to make fun of MiniJ for not having a mother. During another conversation with our scholars I heard him say, "my father hasn't beat me in two years." One more and then I have to move on as this post is getting a little lengthy. It's Thursday morning of the second week of school and he is going through the breakfast line. In doing, so he decided that he needed some additional food so he took some off of a kindergarten scholar's tray. He got busted, as another scholar saw him and immediately reported him.
That's enough for today. Before I go I'll leave you with this. Did you know that I'm working with a real talented teacher? I'll fill you in later. I'm out. Thanks for continuing to read the musings of an old man with a view from the back of the room.
PS - It's Sunday morning and I was informed that a late donation to purchase the iPads is in the mail to me. When I informed the donor that we raised all the money we needed the response was just use the money for the classroom the way you need to. As written above, I did not use real names for the donors and that will hold true for this donor. However, I can tell you this about this donor. She was wearing the cutest little astronauts suit with the word SPACE written across the front of it and every now and then would say yippie skippie.
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