A "NEW" Kid

First off...I feel bad for not blogging from the start of the year. It's not that there has been a shortage of blog topics, it's more like there has been a shortage of motivation to log on and type the stories up.

Okay...We all know that when we get our rosters before school starts, all the teachers from the grade level below yours come see where their kids from last year are. They also tend to share information about those kids. Hopefully, they know the rule that you should only share good information. Kids are unable to start fresh each year when the old teacher tells the new teacher all the problems they had. Well, I didn't actually get "bad" information about a kid on this day. The timing in which I received the bad information for two children was after school had already started and I had already gotten to know the kids.

I met one of my students at Meet the Teacher Night. The parents were insistent that I stay on his back and not let him get away with anything. I told them not to worry, that I would do what I needed to to make it a successful year. The parents still weren't sure I would stay on top of his behavior. When it was time to look through cumulative folders to get testing information from the previous year, I stumbled across a bit of information that helped me understand how much I really needed to monitor his behavior. Let's just say that he had spent some time in a special school for behavior problems. Now, I am still unsure of his exact actions that got him to the school, but it doesn't really matter because he is doing very well in my class. Yes, he likes to talk, but he doesn't talk back (to me), and we're working on how cooperatively he works with others. I will say that I've had much worse and do have much worse behavior problems than him.

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The second little boy won my heart the first week of school. He is so sweet, kind, and helpful. I didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary about this one, until we had a meeting about him. I was asked the question,

"So, how is David* doing in class?"

Me: "He is doing great! He's very helpful to his classmates; he participates all the time; he's turning in his work; and I just love having him in class."

- "WHAT?????"

Me: "Why that reaction?"

- "Because that's very different than his behavior last year. He missed lots of school, didn't make good choices, and was not doing very all around."

Me: "Really, I would never have guessed that based on what I've seen so far this year."

- "Wow! It's only been a week and you've already changed him. That's impressive! I've got goose bumps on my arms because that makes me so happy to hear."

Me: "Well, I didn't do anything different."

When you hear things like this about kids it just makes you so happy...and so much more appreciative of the way they are making good choices, being friends to their peers, and being so respectful of you. And because I found out how he was last year, I continue to remind him how proud of him I am that he has decided to make good choices and how much I enjoy having him in class.