It has been a strange couple of weeks, with only being at school a 1.5 days last week and only 3 days this week. Then looking forward the students only have 8 days of school before spring break. There is a lot of learning we are going to have to cram into those 8 days.
I will have to say, coming back to school, the students did really well, I even heard a few say that they were ready to come back and they were getting kind of bored at home. I can understand that, I was, truth be told, ready to come back to. My reason, I was tired of being in my house, those walls were starting to bother me.
I did have an interesting lunch on Wednesday, I had finished and was going to the teachers lounge when one of my students stopped me in the hall. This student was complaining about another student hanging around where they ate lunch and this student was starting to get on their nerves. They had asked tried joking around and asking him to leave, but this student just stayed.
This caught me a bit off guard and I could tell that it was upsetting my student, however, the other student was not doing anything bad, and was eating lunch. There was not a whole lot I could do. So I just tried to hang around and explain to my student that this other kid had every right to be there as much as they did, even though that was there "lunch spot." I did tell my student that if he was starting to get really annoyed he should come and get me, I was always in my room eating lunch, which is just around the corner.
I talked to my student again on Friday and the student told me that they pictured this other student's face on their punching bag and beat it up. I told my student that was a healthy way to deal with their aggression, but to keep that focus on the punching bag and not this other student. I said that it was not worth getting suspended over and I reiterated that I was in my room eating lunch everyday and to come and get me or join me if these aggressive feelings were starting to take over and they felt like they may lose it. I would rather have them in my room then suspended. I will just have to keep monitoring the situation, but I hope what I said has sunk in, but one never knows.
If anyone has any other advice, I am open to suggestions. This student is a good kid and I hope they make the better choice.
Hope everyone has a great 5 day week, which will seem strange after the last couple of weeks.
Do you have a good relationship with the administrators at your school? For me, at my school, I think I would go talk to the assistant principal who usually keeps an eye on these things, just to give him a heads up. I would just tell him exactly what you've said here and that I wanted him to be aware. Other than that, I think doing what you're doing is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteOh, those lunchtime turf wars! We really are creatures of habit, wanting "our" spot, but the fact is that none of it is ours. It's everyone's to share.
I would have to agree with Lara. I believe that you are doing everything in your power to keep the students seperated and giving them option other than fighting. It might also be helpful, maybe before you escalated to an administrator, to talk to the teachers who walk the halls during lunch. They are a constant fixture that most of the students and will be able to offer advice or assistance.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to say that I agree with you about the short weeks. It is making this semester go by so much faster. I hope that this full week will get me back into the swing of things so that I can start my spring break off on a good note. Have a wonderful break if I don't see you in the hallways before!
It seems that you are forming some nice bonds with your students! The fact that the student feels comfortable to come and talk to you for advice and help with the situation shows the connection you are forming. I do agree with the other ideas that were mentioned; especially Gage's thought on the teachers who monitor the halls during their lunch duty.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one feeling like there is a lot of learning to be done over the next week and a half! I know many of us are trying to finish up our KPTPs, and even some of the other staff members have had a taste of that spring fever on the way from the warm sunshine we had a day or so ago which can make it hard to keep focused. The full week is definitely welcomed, though. Spring break will be here before we know it!