One Week Down, and Still Standing!

I can’t believe that I’ve been teaching for only a week. For some reason, it feels much longer. It’s amazing to me the progress these kids make each day. This Monday I threw them straight into the curriculum and they must have thought I was crazy! But today they are actually started to keep up and get it!

I’m so happy with my class this year! Maybe it’s being refreshed with a great summer. Maybe it’s me knowing what I want and having such high expectations from them. Maybe it’s the kids. But whatever the reason, this year I can tell is going to be great. And maybe it’s the fact that I’ve read a lot of “teacher” books this year that have reminded the importance of staying positive, happy, and loving. Reminders like that are always needed through life.

Actually, that brings me to my next idea. I’ve recently concluded that the student in my class that probably seem the most annoying, energetic, crazed, button pushing, and in-one-ear & out-the-other, pull your hair out kid defiantly need to be my class pet. Let me explain, and clarify what I mean by class pet. I’m sure everyone can recall the kid  (or yourself) who seemed to have all the luck. Lucky to take a note to the office. Lucky to pass out the papers. Lucky to sit next to the light switches and be in charge of them. Lucky to be constantly called on. Lucky to do pretty much anything the teacher needed help with. And now I am going to admit the dirty dark secret that most teachers and parents will deny because they want to sound unbiased and perfectly fair…we do have favorites. We do have class pets and students we seem to naturally seem to connect with. It’s only natural! Why wouldn’t we favorite and praise the kids that are angels? The kids that go out of their way to do everything as perfect as they can? Of course there isn’t anything wrong with rewarding good behavior with our attention, we should acknowledge such things. BUT what about the rest? Our black lost sheep?

Well this was what my greatest epiphany was about this summer. I’ve heard again and again that children act out because they want attention. Ok…so how do we give them attention for their behavior…IN A NEGATIVE WAY!!! It has to be like adding fuel to a fire. The kids probably just want us to treat them as wonderful as we treat the others. I realized how horrible it would be if for eight hours a day I only heard my name called when I was expected to answer a question or if I was getting in trouble. Yuck. Yet this is what hundreds of kids across and America are subjected to. So my experiment this year was to treat that one child…which happens to be a sweet energetic boy this year…with the most love and favoritism I can muster. To let him feel the rewards of positive attention he may never have experience in his education before.

The Experiment:

Day one-  First day of school, he is excited yet reserved

Day two- A bit more energy, but school is still fun and new…school work hasn’t started yet

Day three- Monday, first day of homework, school work, and consequences—Rocky start

Day four- Tested my boundary lines and my rules…I’m exhausted. Yet I see hope and a way to help him. During work time today he was struggling to stay on task. It was after I announced that “Once I’ve checked your paper and you have it 100% correct, then you may go to recess.” I gave my attention to him why he wasn’t working, and in a sad whinny voice he quietly told me that it didn’t matter because he wouldn’t be able to go to recess.  “Why?” I inquired. “Because I’ve never gotten a 100% on anything in my life. Never in first grade and I never will in second grade.” It broke my heart to hear that already he had given up on himself. It broke my heart to hear that the school system had already let me down. It was in that moment he was my personal challenge to prove to all the school who had silently labeled him as a lost cause and just a kid to be tolerated that they are wrong. I hope I’m not naive and young. I hope I’m not fooling myself into thinking I can achieve something too large or too grand. But if I don’t try, I don’t see anyone else there for him. Even his parents have given up on helping him. It was his own mother who met me on the day of registration and looked straight into my eyes with the most sincerity and spoke two words that echoed the depths of her frustration, “Good Luck.” And with that she turned promptly and walked away.

Day five- Better, not perfect, but better. As a consequence for his horrible behavior the day before, he was sentenced to the classroom while everyone else went to P.E. And you know what? I think it worked! To this boy, P.E. was the best part of the week. And missing that was the worst I could do to him. He had seen all the typical punishments in kindergarten and 1st grade: Calling home, missing recess, going to the office, going to the principal, no candy treat, pull a card, and put your head down. He had survived for two years through that everyday…so what could possible phase him? MRS. MEIKLE….Hahaha! Yep, I have to say I do feel proud about that enlightened thought. Even though I have given him special jobs and constant love and praise, there still needs to be structure and consequences. And boy did I find the one that worked.

Day six- Today, Wow…I see the rays of sunshine breaking through the cloud. Hope. Or so I cross my fingers and strongly, deeply, wish that this is a turn in his behavior. Today was wonderful. Yes there were lots of reminders and patient warnings through out the day. And yes, I had to set up a personal reward system in which if he reaches a daily behavior goal that he will have something given to him. (A candy, toy, computer time, game time, etc.) But if it helps reinforce his effort to try and behavior, great! Some might frown at that, but a teacher’s gotta do what a teacher’s gotta do!

The Conclusion:

I’m not perfect and I’m not trying to have all the answers for every kid out there. I’ve made my own share of blunders along the way. Especially with last years class that had so many kids that need to be my “favorite”. I do have regrets for things I should have done and could have done. I regret the times I gave up and passed them on to consoler and the principal. I regret the times I got angry at them and acted in a way less then loving. But I think it was those experiences that caused me to reflect so much this summer and to seek a different way. I just hopes this experiment works. For my sake, and more importantly, his.