The Pebble and the Boulder Day 2

The out of control freight train I had in my class from the previous day yielded a student in the office for the day. I really felt sorry for Eddie, but his behavior from the previous day earned him a serious consequence. However, if we didn't offer a serious intervention for this child, the boulder was certain to drop again. The sixth grade team of teachers consulted the administration on what to do and together we started chipping away at Eddie's boulder. We had the school counselor talk with him to get whatever "it" was off his chest. We got Eddie a mentor he could check in with each day, but most importantly we got him away from the boulder throwers. In offering him a move from his current homeroom to my homeroom, he was given a contract for him to uphold his end of the bargain. We needed him to work as hard as we were working for him.

Every child counts and every child is important. It's not about running away from problems as much as it is running toward a solution. I talked to my homeroom about welcoming our new student in our classroom and how everyone needs a fresh start. I had volunteers of students wanting to sit by him to help him get settled in. I had certain students assigned to be recess buddies and others assigned to be lunch buddies. I knew Eddie was emotionally fatigued from being bruised by the boulder throwers, so I had his buddies guard the situation. I said, "Take a break today and let your buddies take care of anything negative said to you. They are going to take care of you for awhile." Eddie said, "I can handle it." I said, "Oh! I know you can, but today your circle of friends have got it covered. You just need to relax and focus on school. Take a break from all that other stuff."

Eddie was given a class job. All of my students have jobs to teach them responsibility. Eddie was in charge of the morning lunch count and getting each student to sign it. Actually, it's a big task because I check and verify the attendance and get absentee make-up work together for missing kids.

Eddie's first day in class went great. He was perfectly behaved and looked as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. At the end of the day I was able to stamp his MOOSE with "Great Job" because he had followed all the expectations.

Eddie had a new circle of friends taking care of him. By the team of educators sending Eddie the message of "not being successful is simply not an option" and by removing his barriers, he was a totally different child. Sometimes we just need a "do over" in life.

Note: The homeroom teacher he had previously is very compassionate and tried everything she could to overcome the adverse conversations of a couple of students. It was like watching two beta fish in the same tank. They are both beautiful fish, but they shouldn't be in the same environment with each other.

Disclaimer: The names of all my blogs have been changed to protect the innocent children. The names used are my favorite TV characters of my youth.