Here's Charlotte was thinking, "Dear God, why!?!"
But now they are clean and very fluffy yet still smell like wet dog. *Hoping that will fade*
The highlight of this weekend will be getting to see my two best friends from college, Megan and Stephanie. Megan lives with her husband in Ohio and is driving through, and Stephanie is here for the weekend to see her boyfriend, but has been off at medical school in El Paso. So, yay for old friends!
Also, Casey decided (rather randomly, in my opinion) to begin demolishing and rebuilding the deck on the side of our house. I am no great fan of manual labor and especially outside manual labor and have no intention of helping.
I do think the fence needs painting and will help with that, though...I'm not a total princess. Just when I don't see the point the princess surfaces. The deck was okay by me before...but there's no arguing with the man.
School has gone quite well up 'til this point. I love my students with a BIG pink heart. I mean it. I made this big deal the first week that they have rights in my classroom, such as to be treated with respect and patience and to communicate their needs and be heard, etc...of course they have responsibilities too. But, as a whole, it's going well.
I really do go out of my way to be patient and kind, which is not always easy because teenagers can be annoying, and no one's perfect. I'm firm as well, but I'm trying to ask questions first rather than scold, which seems effective. I even apologized to a student and gave him a lollipop after he got mad about something silly and pouted. I figured it was better to score a point with the kid rather that "be right." I still discipline, of course...but I want to do it in such a way as to avoid resentment. I had some serious attitude buggers last year that just drove me nuts last year...and with 33 kids in the room I just don't have time for that. Anyway...we'll see how it goes, but so far...great. Seriously, I have great students. Smart, eager, adorable.
And, strangely, they're talking to me. I've often lamented to myself that teenagers never tell you what's going on, but then get mad at you for not giving them a break because something horrible happened recently. And stuff does happen to these kids. One kid that I know has a really rough life (foster care, juvenile detention, etc) told me Friday that he wasn't feeling too good...that's a big deal. I gave him a lollipop (lame, I know!) Another girl told me about her little brother that's going to lose 1/2 his brain in an epilepsy surgery. Another that her boyfriend broke up with her, another that she got in a huge fight with her folks, another that he might have cancer and his dad is abusive. And these are ordinary kids, at a pretty decent school.
So...anyway...it's different. Of course, they tell me good stuff too. But, most importantly, they're talking to me. It's good.
School has gone quite well up 'til this point. I love my students with a BIG pink heart. I mean it. I made this big deal the first week that they have rights in my classroom, such as to be treated with respect and patience and to communicate their needs and be heard, etc...of course they have responsibilities too. But, as a whole, it's going well.
I really do go out of my way to be patient and kind, which is not always easy because teenagers can be annoying, and no one's perfect. I'm firm as well, but I'm trying to ask questions first rather than scold, which seems effective. I even apologized to a student and gave him a lollipop after he got mad about something silly and pouted. I figured it was better to score a point with the kid rather that "be right." I still discipline, of course...but I want to do it in such a way as to avoid resentment. I had some serious attitude buggers last year that just drove me nuts last year...and with 33 kids in the room I just don't have time for that. Anyway...we'll see how it goes, but so far...great. Seriously, I have great students. Smart, eager, adorable.
And, strangely, they're talking to me. I've often lamented to myself that teenagers never tell you what's going on, but then get mad at you for not giving them a break because something horrible happened recently. And stuff does happen to these kids. One kid that I know has a really rough life (foster care, juvenile detention, etc) told me Friday that he wasn't feeling too good...that's a big deal. I gave him a lollipop (lame, I know!) Another girl told me about her little brother that's going to lose 1/2 his brain in an epilepsy surgery. Another that her boyfriend broke up with her, another that she got in a huge fight with her folks, another that he might have cancer and his dad is abusive. And these are ordinary kids, at a pretty decent school.
So...anyway...it's different. Of course, they tell me good stuff too. But, most importantly, they're talking to me. It's good.
No comments:
Post a Comment