The Plot Thickens......

So....today I was rudely "awakened" to one of my students' misbehaviors last week (which I knew he'd gotten suspended for, but was unsure of the details.) Imagine my surprise when the principal telephoned my room, in the middle of instructional time for literacy, & informed me of my students' suspension lasting until Thursday, since she can't get a court hearing before Wednesday. The court hearing developed from the fact that, not only did this student have posession of a weapon on the playground last week (razor blades) but he actually harmed another student! What a nightmare :/
Then, one of the girls in my classroom had to move her clip 4 times (she's become quite the "talker" lately during instruction) & she started bawling when she was told to go write a letter home, as the consequences so clearly outline, & admitted she's been acting out in class & talking because she doesn't get much attention from her mom (since she's gotten engaged & is a student as well.) That was so sad for me.
And on top of all that, most of my co-workers couldn't help but come by & comment about Saturday's slaughter; the massacre of BYU by Utah (since the corner of my classroom is decked out in BYU.) *Sigh* I'm so glad tomorrow's a new day!

The Gospel on the Art of Disciplining & Teaching

As I have been considering some of my more troublesome students (3 in particular) & their behaviors in the classroom as of late, I have taken some extra measures to encourage good behaviors from them, to replace the undesirable behaviors constantly manifest instead. For some of them, I have talked to their parents & the school counselor & enacted a behavior implementation plan (which entails cooperation of the parents at home to take away privileges if the student had an unsatsifactory day at school & my discipline plan had no effect on them in the classroom), moving seats closer to the front where I can see every off-task behavior, & even using scorecards on their desks to indicate when they are displaying "yes" or "no" behaviors. I took some guidance & comfort from a General Conference address given by Elder Lynn G. Robbins this past April; his infamous "to be and to do" talk. While the talk was directed towards parents, there are many gems of truth that can be applied in the educator's realm as well. He said: "We will never have a greater opportunity to teach & show Christlike attributes to our children than in the way we discipline them. Discipline comes from the same root word as disciple & implies patience & teaching on our part. ..you might consider the more challenging child a blessing & opportunity to become more godlike yourself. Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?"
What a concept! But it is true; in my ongoing quest to become more godlike, these students & future students & children, can assist me in that quest, by encouraging me to be more patient, diligent, & charitable in disciplining them.

Today was an interesting one; my kids were really making me laugh when they interacted with volunteers from the Church who came to do the United Day of Caring (i.e. organize activities & games with the kids & eat lunch with us). When one of the volunteers introduced himself as someone who gets to "play" on the computer all day, a software engineer, one of my students blurted out, "I'd like to take your job!" And later, when students' cultures & languages spoken were being discussed, another student said, "Well, I'm not really from Mexico, but that's where my mom got pregnant." (If you've read earlier entries, he's the same one that said he's not really Mormon, but that he goes to church so they give him stuff for free.)
Unfortunately, the afternoon didn't end too well; two of my students got in a fight during the "extra recess" provided by the school counselor, & it escalated to the point that they ended up in the principal's office talking to her about it after-school. Also, one of the students has already gotten in a fight since school started, & he claims it stems from anger management issues. :/ I don't really know how to respond to that. We all have to learn how to manage anger & frustration in our lives though.
Also, I had to talk to the school counselor after-school today, & I'm lucky I snagged him, to refer 2 students to him for counseling. One of them being the young man who is picking fights with other students continually & the other the young man with ADHD & a lot of social behavior issues. With him I decided to pull his desk up to the front of the room, hoping that proximity to me will help keep him in check, & made a small "score card" to put in front of his desk to indicate when he is behaving & on-task (which will ultimately lead to a reward) & when his behavior is unacceptable. It mostly worked like a charm, today!
We'll see what tomorrow brings!