The Joy of Teaching #2

I have had a crazy few weeks in my classroom. 3 of my students have left and I have gotten 3 new ones. One of the students who left was a personal project of mine. He spoke little English and was leaving having conversations in English (his native language is Spanish). Anyway, 3 new kids definitely changes the dynamics of a classroom...

I have a special boy in my class, who I love very much, but challenges me in many ways. He is one of my lowest students but he is by far "dumb". He can't read but 6 words per minute and his math skills are touch and go. I have struggled with figuring out his ways of learning. He also has emotional/anger problems. He doesn't know how to control himself, he freaks out, throws tantrums, screams at kids and adults, throws things at people who he doesn't trust...the list goes on and on. (Oh, and this is the same little guy that peed in the grass)

Okay, so today, I find out that this student has ripped a page in his anthology and has scribbled in it (out of frustration, I am sure!) I was so mad at him. I didn't know what to do. I decided that he needed a "logical" consequence. He is going to be "earning" back the money of the book by taking out the recycle bins in the classroom and picking up the trash throughout the day (inside the classroom). He took to the jobs right away, (he definitely knew he was in the wrong) and took them pretty seriously. (Though he was EXTREMELY concerned that I was not going to allow him to eat lunch!) Towards the end of the afternoon he was getting frustrated and yelled out "can you guys stop putting trash on the ground! I have to pick it up!"

Oh man, the joy of teaching. My life is dedicated to those 20 rugrats right now. I have completely reorganized my classroom and it feels great...I am EXHAUSTED though!