It has been one of those long, emotionally draining weeks, which is why I haven't blogged. I didn't want to sound too depressing (which apparently I did in my Martha post; I'm really not depressed, I just give up :)).
There were lots of problems with my students this week. Like on Thursday:
-L. came back from P.E. crying hysterically and wouldn't tell anyone what was wrong. We found out later that her aunt had died (a while ago), and she really misses her
-I found out a little more about why A. is the way he is- all of his male role models are in prison. His behavior has gotten progressively more disturbing. A few weeks ago, he slapped this girl, T., across the face with a rolled up paper. Then he dropped it and demanded she pick it up for him. She did. The first weird thing I've noticed is that T. seems to enjoy being treated like this. She's been hanging around with A. more and more and trying to see what kind of behavior she can get away with. She's trying to be his partner in crime, and he is completely awful to her. I came down on her really hard and had a good talk with her mother, so hopefully that behavior will improve. She's a good kid, so I'd hate to see that change. It's just so strange; isn't 6th grade too young to be in an abusive relationship? Besides the awful behavior towards T., A. is constantly making comments about other boys in the class being gay. He'll tell me that they blew him a kiss, or tried to touch him, or all this other crazy stuff that I know isn't true. (A. is one of the biggest liars I've ever met. He'll hit someone right in front of me, then when he receives a consequence, he gets so upset, claiming he didn't do it. He gets so worked up, it's like he convinces himself that he is actually innocent.) Anyway, all this gay stuff really bothers me; why is he so obsessed with this? To make things worse, there is a boy in the class who I think might actually be gay, so I don't want there to be any negative talk about it in my classroom. This boy told me the other day that A. approached him in the bathroom while no one else was around and made suggestive comments to him. Obviously A. needs some psychological help, but my district doesn't like to give special services, so I don't see that happening. I just keep documenting and trying to work with him the best I can.
-L. (another L) finally opened up to me and talked about what goes on at home. I knew he had low self-esteem because he is always making fun of himself, but the other day he told me about how is mom is always calling him a dummy and thinks he's stupid. And when I call home about his behavior, he gets put on punishment, which means cleaning all the time. So then he doesn't have time to do his homework. He said he might be moving soon because his mom can't pay the mortgage and her parents won't lend her the money this time, but his other teachers said this is a pretty common situation.
-A. lost her shoe. We went out for recess, and apparently she tackled M. and stole his shoe, so he tackled her and stole her shoe. But it was never found. I had no idea what to do. I told my class that even kindergarteners come back from recess with both shoes on. Another girl lent her an extra pair of shoes, and they traded back on the bus that afternoon. I thought it was pretty hilarious that A. arrived home with only one shoe on. Probably not so funny for A., though. Anyway, the class spent their P.E. time looking for the missing shoe the next day and still couldn't find it. They concluded that a wild animal must have gotten it.
-T. punched someone at lunch, shoved two kids out of their seats, and squirted ketchup on them. He's usually a good kid.
-6 of my kids got lunch detention this week. I made them write to their parents explaining their behavior. They were to get the letters signed and bring them back. A.J.'s said:
Dear Dad,
This week I had lunch detention because I was playing too much at lunch. Unfortunately, I did not get a referral. Next week I will try to do better.
-"If Macbeth didn't die, he wouldn't have learned his lesson." (from N's Macbeth essay)
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. It has just been a crazy week. This weekend hasn't exactly been normal, either. Yesterday I went to Mr. Bowman's memorial service. It was really nice to hear everyone's memories of him. There was a lot of laughter. This morning I went to church as usual, and it was the blessing of the pets. So I took communion next to a dog. Then, when I was trying to get home, there was all this craziness! Helicopters, ambulances, police cars, fire trucks, and so much traffic. I have never seen so many people and cars on my street, not even when the Bears were in the playoffs. (I live on 18th Street, just south of the loop.) I just found out that the Chicago marathon was actually stopped because of the heat. Craziness.
Okay, usually when I have really long posts it's because I'm putting off writing a paper. Today is no exception. My Action Research Project proposal is due tomorrow, and I soooo don't feel like writing it! They want you to do everything to their specifications, so you have to be careful of every word you write. It's because they want you to be able to publish your paper in a journal when it's done, but I don't want to be published! I just want to be done with this degree so I can start on my next one! Actually, I won't be done till May, but I'm starting my master's in Reading in January. So I'll be doubling up for a few months. Anyway, I guess I should get back to work...
There were lots of problems with my students this week. Like on Thursday:
-L. came back from P.E. crying hysterically and wouldn't tell anyone what was wrong. We found out later that her aunt had died (a while ago), and she really misses her
-I found out a little more about why A. is the way he is- all of his male role models are in prison. His behavior has gotten progressively more disturbing. A few weeks ago, he slapped this girl, T., across the face with a rolled up paper. Then he dropped it and demanded she pick it up for him. She did. The first weird thing I've noticed is that T. seems to enjoy being treated like this. She's been hanging around with A. more and more and trying to see what kind of behavior she can get away with. She's trying to be his partner in crime, and he is completely awful to her. I came down on her really hard and had a good talk with her mother, so hopefully that behavior will improve. She's a good kid, so I'd hate to see that change. It's just so strange; isn't 6th grade too young to be in an abusive relationship? Besides the awful behavior towards T., A. is constantly making comments about other boys in the class being gay. He'll tell me that they blew him a kiss, or tried to touch him, or all this other crazy stuff that I know isn't true. (A. is one of the biggest liars I've ever met. He'll hit someone right in front of me, then when he receives a consequence, he gets so upset, claiming he didn't do it. He gets so worked up, it's like he convinces himself that he is actually innocent.) Anyway, all this gay stuff really bothers me; why is he so obsessed with this? To make things worse, there is a boy in the class who I think might actually be gay, so I don't want there to be any negative talk about it in my classroom. This boy told me the other day that A. approached him in the bathroom while no one else was around and made suggestive comments to him. Obviously A. needs some psychological help, but my district doesn't like to give special services, so I don't see that happening. I just keep documenting and trying to work with him the best I can.
-L. (another L) finally opened up to me and talked about what goes on at home. I knew he had low self-esteem because he is always making fun of himself, but the other day he told me about how is mom is always calling him a dummy and thinks he's stupid. And when I call home about his behavior, he gets put on punishment, which means cleaning all the time. So then he doesn't have time to do his homework. He said he might be moving soon because his mom can't pay the mortgage and her parents won't lend her the money this time, but his other teachers said this is a pretty common situation.
-A. lost her shoe. We went out for recess, and apparently she tackled M. and stole his shoe, so he tackled her and stole her shoe. But it was never found. I had no idea what to do. I told my class that even kindergarteners come back from recess with both shoes on. Another girl lent her an extra pair of shoes, and they traded back on the bus that afternoon. I thought it was pretty hilarious that A. arrived home with only one shoe on. Probably not so funny for A., though. Anyway, the class spent their P.E. time looking for the missing shoe the next day and still couldn't find it. They concluded that a wild animal must have gotten it.
-T. punched someone at lunch, shoved two kids out of their seats, and squirted ketchup on them. He's usually a good kid.
-6 of my kids got lunch detention this week. I made them write to their parents explaining their behavior. They were to get the letters signed and bring them back. A.J.'s said:
Dear Dad,
This week I had lunch detention because I was playing too much at lunch. Unfortunately, I did not get a referral. Next week I will try to do better.
-"If Macbeth didn't die, he wouldn't have learned his lesson." (from N's Macbeth essay)
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. It has just been a crazy week. This weekend hasn't exactly been normal, either. Yesterday I went to Mr. Bowman's memorial service. It was really nice to hear everyone's memories of him. There was a lot of laughter. This morning I went to church as usual, and it was the blessing of the pets. So I took communion next to a dog. Then, when I was trying to get home, there was all this craziness! Helicopters, ambulances, police cars, fire trucks, and so much traffic. I have never seen so many people and cars on my street, not even when the Bears were in the playoffs. (I live on 18th Street, just south of the loop.) I just found out that the Chicago marathon was actually stopped because of the heat. Craziness.
Okay, usually when I have really long posts it's because I'm putting off writing a paper. Today is no exception. My Action Research Project proposal is due tomorrow, and I soooo don't feel like writing it! They want you to do everything to their specifications, so you have to be careful of every word you write. It's because they want you to be able to publish your paper in a journal when it's done, but I don't want to be published! I just want to be done with this degree so I can start on my next one! Actually, I won't be done till May, but I'm starting my master's in Reading in January. So I'll be doubling up for a few months. Anyway, I guess I should get back to work...
Comments