A new clasroom indeed...

Well chummy chums,

the days of smooth sailing, sipping mojitos in the sun type days in class 205-D are over.

Lets me just say my last post, turned out to be one of 4 new kids I got in 7 days. YIKES!!

Case #2 - My next amazingly new child is a boy that needed to be moved from his last class because parents were complaining about him. He is a wild card. Dont really know where I stand with him. So far he listens to me. He of course chose to throw his first official fit 15 minutes before the weekend on Friday. He wouldnt stop calling the kids at his table stupid and telling them to "shut up" but then he refused to write his homework. FOOT DOWN!! Although my first reaction was to go go Diva on him and say "OH no you didn't", but I put him in a "quote on quote- thinking spot" aka time out. Change the name and its no longer corporal punishment. Huh, you see, starting to use the old noggin now. When I went to speak to him later, I had a tough love heart to heart. Down on his level we talked about what made him act that way and after a little coaxing he explained that he "was just angry" in the softest voice. Taking into account what he had been through this week, we talked about his friends from his old class and made a plan to visit them next week. Next thing you know, he is back on trek. He is still a mystery and mentally exhausting because you have to keep him in line without being too stern because he will lose it and throw pencils. A fine line indeed...

Case #2

A girl with spunk!! She began on crazy hat day. She is very animated but also goes into her on little world. She joins our class because she just got put into foster care in the area. She is the oldest of 4, two being babies, and they all got broken up. No one really knows what schools she came from or much information yet, but I have all the info I need on her. I can tell she was the care taker of the kids. She loves to help, and has a mature side that most 7 year olds should not have. She is still such a child though, and has alot to learn about being in school. She is very animated and has already made friends. She will be just fine. I am happy this class can become somewhere safe for her.

Case #3

Oh boyyyy! Where to start! This young girl began school a couple weeks ago, but they were so concerned with her behavior that she started in the suspension room so her group setting would be small. Like most crazy acting kids she became famous, and she landed on my roster. She has sever emotional needs, and when you hear her story it breaks your heart. Not going to go into too much detail here, but her father and brother made her life hell in a way that no 7 year old should ever experience. When you look into her eyes, she is lost. Not present in her petite little body. Academically, she is in the top of my class. A great reader and writer. She began this week because they found her a one-on-one para. She really changed the dynamic. She crawls over the floor and under tables. When she doesn't get her way she goes under my teachers shelves and will not come out. She hasnt shown her violent streak yet, but it is there lurking. The original kids in my class have big hearts so they have been looking out for her so far. She responded well to structure. When I knew she would be joining our class instantly began practicing and reviewing class routines and when she began she fell right in.

For instance, we have a really structured way we do reader's workshop in our class. the kids get their "just right" books and go to their spots with their reading buddies. During independent reading they read back to back with their buddies silently. After that they turn and read sided by side taking turn reading and listening to their buddies. Then they go to work time. Meanwhile I am meeting with guided reading groups. Friday, the kids showed the new kids how to do it. We methodically went through the process, and as the kids followed the process, I took the newbies on a little tour pointing out all the wonderful behavior I saw (the originals were so proud of themselves). I made a really big deal out of it and then asked the previous mentioned two girls to try the process by themselves. Like butter...
I was very proud of them. I hope this girl makes some break throughs in our class. If I could look back on her time in class 100 and see that she showed sign of returning again. And her eyes would sparkle a little bit, I would feel accomplished.

You would think that this craziness would really turn me off to the whole scene at 163. But it really has made me connect to the kids in the my class at a much deeper level. My job is to educate, to give them an advantage in life by starting them off in school with the right "smarts". But now I see that even above that, 100 must be a safe place from them. A place they can count on and trust. Mr. Robbins will be there everyday, expecting the very best from them behaviorally and academically. They will come to a class with a familiar structure. A structure they rely on when they come off the crazy streets of the Bronx.

Some people ask if it is worth giving up certain professional musts to teach in this environment. "There are so much better schools out there" I hear all the time. "No one can really change the world" or "everyone thinks they can change the world" gets thrown at me as if I need some out. I will know when the time has come. But right now, this job gives me meaning. And it reminds me of why I started this in the first place. If you made it this far in this long post, thanks for listening...