This has been one crazy week for me and my students. We were out for the first three days due to all the flooding in Carroll County. I just knew that when the students came back they wouldn't be able to focus on anything at all. I have since realized that students truly do want to have school to focus on when tragedy strikes. On Thursday when we came back, I wanted to give the students a time to discuss anything from the flooding that might be on their minds. (I knew I had several students that were directly affected.) Those students were so grateful to just to be able to talk and the rest of us actually listen. My classes seem to be pretty close knit even though I have students from every school in the county.
Once they were finished talking about their concerns and anything else that might be on their hearts, they were VERY ready to focus on school. They got right to work. We even were able to have our weekly Medical Terminology quiz. I was very surprised they all made "A's."
So, I guess that I learned that no matter what students say they want to be in school during certain times. Thursday and Friday were days that I think they wanted to be there. It helped them focus on more positive things than all the disastrous events that were going on around us. I am so grateful too that all of my kids made it "o.k." through this. They may be suffering emotionally, but they will make it through!
Hello Jennifer. I agree with you. Even though the students complain about all of the work, when it is all said and done, I think that they would rather be in school. We were out for only one day. I had a student tell me that he was bored being at home on our off day. Something else that I learned is that sometimes the students have so much that they want to say and express. Somestimes they just want someone to listen. There are times when I feel led to break away from the lesson for a brief time to allow them to say whatever it is that they have to say.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that the students at my school are having a hard time with is accountability and responsibility. Last year, the principal was not strict at all. Rules were not enforced and the students were wild. Our new principal does not play and is serious about order. The students cannot stand this. I remind them that rules are rules and they are not to punish them but to make them better students now and for the future. As humans we are resistant to change and change is a process. We however have to decide if we are willing to endure the process.
I think that you handled that well considering that some may have suffered some loss(es) as a result of our natural disaster.
Sometimes we are the only stability a student has in their life. This is espescialy true with a disaster like the recent flooding. In Paulding county we were out the etire last week. I know I will have many students severely affected by the flooding because it was heavy within our district lines. I am mentally preparing for the onslaught that awaits me on Monday morning. That said, I am actually not worried that there will be behavior problems, at least not at first. The students want structure whether they admit it or not.
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