Dragon Lady Begins to Win the War
So on Tuesday I got told off in the corridoor by the school counsellor for losing it with He Who Would Be Alpha Male and telling him off in front of the entire class (which by the way he seems to prefer because earlier in the day when I asked him to please 'take this outside' he said nah he'd do it here, in front of the whole class - because that of course is how he can prove he is the Alpha Male).
So I was Very Sad.
I wasn't able to verbalise what I was feeling, I've been very stressed with their behaviour and inability to 'control' it (control is the wrong word but this is why I am having a problem verbalising - they have to control it my role is ... something else ...)
I think most everyone noticed because they all kept asking me if I was okay and so I would say "Yep" and then walk quickly away. I wasn't fooling anyone, and I knew I wasn't fooling anyone but you know ... if you walk away they can't do anything.
Until they corner you in your classroom in the morning. But this was a Good Thing because the teacher who cornered me gave me something to help and it really totally started working. Now they have a timetable taped to their table and when they do something good I give them a tick on the relevant spot on the timetable. When they have five ticks they have earned a classroom dollar which they can exchange for a list of agreed 'rewards' such as choosing the fitness game, free computer time etc on Friday afternoon.
When they do something that results in a warning (after you do the fluffy, fuzzy bunny redirecting and such) they get a cross on the sheet. As per the school policy reaffirmed and ratified at staff meeting on Tuesday (and clarified thank bloody goodness) first two crosses are warnings. Third cross is Class Sit-Out (I have a special table in front of my desk for such an occurence). Fourth cross is Buddy Class where you send them out and hopefully the teacher in the other classroom gives them the evil eye and sends them back repentant. I arranged with the year 6/7 teacher who gave me this system that she would take my Buddy Class sendees, in particular He Who Would Be Alpha Male as the bonus to this scheme is he will have to be 'in trouble' in front of his Bestie - which should lower the incentive. Fifth cross is Room 3 - which is the counsellor's office and the same as You Are In Very Deep Trouble And Soon We Will Call Your Parents. Reality is our counsellor is a freaking marshmallow who needs to give them less cool down time and more Angry Faces.
However the new Principal is very Down The Line. She's strict, expects kids to learn and doesn't take any crap. This I like. I know what to expect from her which is more than I can say of the school counsellor who you are never quite sure is going to give the child free computer time for inappropriate, violent games while she is in her office not watching (true story - had it happen last year when I sent a kid who had a weapon) or tell them off.
The beauty of the timetable on the table is the kid cannot argue with me. If I say Sit-Out they can see for themself how they have three ticks. And I keep consistent because I can remember which freaking cross they are up to. Yesterday I warned a kid twice about swinging on his chair. "I said next time I have to warn you, you get a cross. Stopping to remind you is interrupting our learning time." A litle while later I was at the table working with a group and another child began swinging. I said they only get this one warning since they already heard me warn twice and pointed out how The Swinging Child had stopped. The Swinging Child piped up "I Know, but I really, REALLY want to!"
So I gave him a tick for not giving in! LOL
Writing on or removing your timetable is defacing school property and results in straight to Buddy Class.
Anyway He Who Would Be Alpha Male laughed a bit when I gave him the first cross. (I gave him a couple ticks too to try and sweeten him up and start positively). He seemed resigned if a little cheeky about the second cross. He blatantly swore about the third cross. Then he had lunch and spent several minutes after returning from the playground pushing buttons. I gave him some fluffy fuzzy bunny warnings as per school policy. Then I laid the boot in gave him the fourth cross. My interpretation is that he'd had a lunchtime conference with his Bestie at lunch and they figured out that Buddy Class meant they'd be in the same room. So he'd been pushing boundaries trying to go there because he cheerfully said "All right! Now I get to go see Bestie!"
When we made the class lists last year, depsite my status as a Relief Teacher and not even a member of staff, I had been at all the staff meetings and very insistent that He Who Would Be Alpha Male and Bestie were separated - they are toxic together as both are in the 5% of kids who are extreme for behaviour. In the same class last year - Room 13, aptly named - at one point I was the only teacher who would take the class for a relief day. So everyone else agreed with me!
Anyway he went off cheerfully enough because he couldn't argue, I had been fair (as I always am) and he thought it would be sunshine and lollipops.
He came back absolutely furious and wound up cursing the Room 7 teacher six ways to Sunday. (she's no pussycat, you DOLT) "I am NEVER going back to THAT bitch again" was the general sentiment. He was more agitated than when he'd left and I spent many minutes trying to get him 'in line' instead of teaching. Before long I explained he'd have to go to Room 3. I began writing out a Blue Slip. I ticked the 'Interfered with the right of teachers to teach and others to learn' box, listed his misdemeanours from swearing to defacing school property (He dragged scissors across his timetable tearing it) and explained I'd be ringing Room 3. He vanished for a moment and came back. I assumed he'd gone to Room 3 and asked him if Marshmallow Woman was there so he was rude and said he didn't go there.
Where'd you go?
Just left because this is crap.
I added 'left classroom without permission' to the list and rang Room 3 :)
He was pretty agitated by then but he was gone, you could hear him carrying on but I closed the door, we got on with the busines of the classroom and everyone else was very co-operative. We went to the Library for borrowing and browsing and we could see him being silly out in the courtyard. Marshmallow Woman had come to tell the kids to ignore him if they saw him, his parents had been called. They had a lot of trouble ignoring him though!!!
I thought to myself - well, at least it's a Take Home ... although that's pretty dodgy at 2:45pm ... still I was happy it had worked. I found out after all the kids had gone that he was Suspended for the next day.
I'm not gunna lie. I was pleased. And the Teacher Librarian and I high fived over it *looks sideways* I said we shoudl be high fiving over a kid getting suspened but she said we weren't we were high fiving the fact that The Process (for once) had worked. Marshmallow Woman often derails The Process.
On that note I have to say how everyone has been so, so supportive. They *know* I'm a complete Newbie and go out of their way to give me stuff. The Science Teacher spent the first week checking on me as she walked past my classroom and printed off all the emails for me until I got my email password fixed. The Teacher-Librarian checks on me almost every morning and brings me things. She brought me a Reading Box the other day with a note on it that it would be good to show differentiation in my teaching which is one of the new principal's criteria. She looked at my term overview plan and offered for me to bring the class into the library at a time when she's free and she would help me teach them the Opinion Framework which is a way to prepare them for the National Testing in May. The Year Three Teacher looked over my Term one ideas and added to them. Even the PE teacher who is the most taciturn man in the world came in last Friday and asked how I was going. I swear he never said six words to me last year until the week I took his class in term 4 - and even then I think he only said 12 :P . The Deputy told me to sign up for a course on classroom behaviour management and she would figure out a way to get me out of the last twenty minutes of the school day on those three days in order for me to attend.
So apart from Marshmallow Woman - who has since gushed over what a good job I am doing - support has been impressive. Thank goodness because one needs that when the Child On Suspension fails his re-entry and smashes a glass door with his fist, getting a further five day suspension.
There are 80% of children who do the right thing and never get past classroom sit-out. They say the odd swear word, get into the odd argument and occasionally stray off task or talk too much. One bad day a year they might make it to Buddy Class or throw a punch - but it's usually because the cat died or dad's sick. Then there are the 15% who regularly end up in Buddy Class, can't stay on task, actively practice work avoidance and see Room 3 a couple times but if you keep them in a bit and call their parents in they pull their head in long enough to learn *something*. One bad day in the year they might have a Take Home or a suspension for fighting when the other kid called their mum a whore. Then there are the 5%.
They're like Voldemort. We do not speak their name.
They are the kid who punches or kicks the glass door until it shatters. They are the kid who find rusty blades and threaten the rest of the class. They are the kid who regularly put others in a headlock and call the teacher a F***g Bitch. They are the kid who set fire to the toilet seats. They are the ones who throw chairs at other children and try to kneecap them before pushing them down the stairs.
He Who Would Be Alpha Male is in the 5%.
I'm lucky really - I only have the one. There's a teacher upstairs in Room 13 (again it's Room 13 with the serious issues) who has two pyromaniacs. We thought she only had one, but he was in the room when the toilet was set on fire ... the one just back from Naughty Boy's School was missing at the time. There's little doubt left it was him.
I have to say though, thank goodness for Naughty Boy's School because if one of my list wasn't in there I'd have a matched set of psychopaths too!
The other kids settled down when He Who Would Be Alpha Male was out for two days. We have 5 more days of bliss. I have much work to do with the child who can't read. He's eleven and in Year 6. I did some Running Record training on Thursday (where again everyone was very tolerant of my utter ignorance and the principal made sure I was able to ask all my questions)We have to test every child and The Department wants the results entered for every child under Level 30 regardless of their age. You need a child ot be on about Level 3 before you can do a successful Running Record on them so they said don't bother with the new 5yos basically. Erm ... I hope that also applies to this boy - he's got about the same reading ability.
We did some cooking though and my class is full of student work ready for Acquaintance Night next Tuesday. parents still scare me but I've spoken to two now and soon, no doubt I'll be a pro!
So I was Very Sad.
I wasn't able to verbalise what I was feeling, I've been very stressed with their behaviour and inability to 'control' it (control is the wrong word but this is why I am having a problem verbalising - they have to control it my role is ... something else ...)
I think most everyone noticed because they all kept asking me if I was okay and so I would say "Yep" and then walk quickly away. I wasn't fooling anyone, and I knew I wasn't fooling anyone but you know ... if you walk away they can't do anything.
Until they corner you in your classroom in the morning. But this was a Good Thing because the teacher who cornered me gave me something to help and it really totally started working. Now they have a timetable taped to their table and when they do something good I give them a tick on the relevant spot on the timetable. When they have five ticks they have earned a classroom dollar which they can exchange for a list of agreed 'rewards' such as choosing the fitness game, free computer time etc on Friday afternoon.
When they do something that results in a warning (after you do the fluffy, fuzzy bunny redirecting and such) they get a cross on the sheet. As per the school policy reaffirmed and ratified at staff meeting on Tuesday (and clarified thank bloody goodness) first two crosses are warnings. Third cross is Class Sit-Out (I have a special table in front of my desk for such an occurence). Fourth cross is Buddy Class where you send them out and hopefully the teacher in the other classroom gives them the evil eye and sends them back repentant. I arranged with the year 6/7 teacher who gave me this system that she would take my Buddy Class sendees, in particular He Who Would Be Alpha Male as the bonus to this scheme is he will have to be 'in trouble' in front of his Bestie - which should lower the incentive. Fifth cross is Room 3 - which is the counsellor's office and the same as You Are In Very Deep Trouble And Soon We Will Call Your Parents. Reality is our counsellor is a freaking marshmallow who needs to give them less cool down time and more Angry Faces.
However the new Principal is very Down The Line. She's strict, expects kids to learn and doesn't take any crap. This I like. I know what to expect from her which is more than I can say of the school counsellor who you are never quite sure is going to give the child free computer time for inappropriate, violent games while she is in her office not watching (true story - had it happen last year when I sent a kid who had a weapon) or tell them off.
The beauty of the timetable on the table is the kid cannot argue with me. If I say Sit-Out they can see for themself how they have three ticks. And I keep consistent because I can remember which freaking cross they are up to. Yesterday I warned a kid twice about swinging on his chair. "I said next time I have to warn you, you get a cross. Stopping to remind you is interrupting our learning time." A litle while later I was at the table working with a group and another child began swinging. I said they only get this one warning since they already heard me warn twice and pointed out how The Swinging Child had stopped. The Swinging Child piped up "I Know, but I really, REALLY want to!"
So I gave him a tick for not giving in! LOL
Writing on or removing your timetable is defacing school property and results in straight to Buddy Class.
Anyway He Who Would Be Alpha Male laughed a bit when I gave him the first cross. (I gave him a couple ticks too to try and sweeten him up and start positively). He seemed resigned if a little cheeky about the second cross. He blatantly swore about the third cross. Then he had lunch and spent several minutes after returning from the playground pushing buttons. I gave him some fluffy fuzzy bunny warnings as per school policy. Then I laid the boot in gave him the fourth cross. My interpretation is that he'd had a lunchtime conference with his Bestie at lunch and they figured out that Buddy Class meant they'd be in the same room. So he'd been pushing boundaries trying to go there because he cheerfully said "All right! Now I get to go see Bestie!"
When we made the class lists last year, depsite my status as a Relief Teacher and not even a member of staff, I had been at all the staff meetings and very insistent that He Who Would Be Alpha Male and Bestie were separated - they are toxic together as both are in the 5% of kids who are extreme for behaviour. In the same class last year - Room 13, aptly named - at one point I was the only teacher who would take the class for a relief day. So everyone else agreed with me!
Anyway he went off cheerfully enough because he couldn't argue, I had been fair (as I always am) and he thought it would be sunshine and lollipops.
He came back absolutely furious and wound up cursing the Room 7 teacher six ways to Sunday. (she's no pussycat, you DOLT) "I am NEVER going back to THAT bitch again" was the general sentiment. He was more agitated than when he'd left and I spent many minutes trying to get him 'in line' instead of teaching. Before long I explained he'd have to go to Room 3. I began writing out a Blue Slip. I ticked the 'Interfered with the right of teachers to teach and others to learn' box, listed his misdemeanours from swearing to defacing school property (He dragged scissors across his timetable tearing it) and explained I'd be ringing Room 3. He vanished for a moment and came back. I assumed he'd gone to Room 3 and asked him if Marshmallow Woman was there so he was rude and said he didn't go there.
Where'd you go?
Just left because this is crap.
I added 'left classroom without permission' to the list and rang Room 3 :)
He was pretty agitated by then but he was gone, you could hear him carrying on but I closed the door, we got on with the busines of the classroom and everyone else was very co-operative. We went to the Library for borrowing and browsing and we could see him being silly out in the courtyard. Marshmallow Woman had come to tell the kids to ignore him if they saw him, his parents had been called. They had a lot of trouble ignoring him though!!!
I thought to myself - well, at least it's a Take Home ... although that's pretty dodgy at 2:45pm ... still I was happy it had worked. I found out after all the kids had gone that he was Suspended for the next day.
I'm not gunna lie. I was pleased. And the Teacher Librarian and I high fived over it *looks sideways* I said we shoudl be high fiving over a kid getting suspened but she said we weren't we were high fiving the fact that The Process (for once) had worked. Marshmallow Woman often derails The Process.
On that note I have to say how everyone has been so, so supportive. They *know* I'm a complete Newbie and go out of their way to give me stuff. The Science Teacher spent the first week checking on me as she walked past my classroom and printed off all the emails for me until I got my email password fixed. The Teacher-Librarian checks on me almost every morning and brings me things. She brought me a Reading Box the other day with a note on it that it would be good to show differentiation in my teaching which is one of the new principal's criteria. She looked at my term overview plan and offered for me to bring the class into the library at a time when she's free and she would help me teach them the Opinion Framework which is a way to prepare them for the National Testing in May. The Year Three Teacher looked over my Term one ideas and added to them. Even the PE teacher who is the most taciturn man in the world came in last Friday and asked how I was going. I swear he never said six words to me last year until the week I took his class in term 4 - and even then I think he only said 12 :P . The Deputy told me to sign up for a course on classroom behaviour management and she would figure out a way to get me out of the last twenty minutes of the school day on those three days in order for me to attend.
So apart from Marshmallow Woman - who has since gushed over what a good job I am doing - support has been impressive. Thank goodness because one needs that when the Child On Suspension fails his re-entry and smashes a glass door with his fist, getting a further five day suspension.
There are 80% of children who do the right thing and never get past classroom sit-out. They say the odd swear word, get into the odd argument and occasionally stray off task or talk too much. One bad day a year they might make it to Buddy Class or throw a punch - but it's usually because the cat died or dad's sick. Then there are the 15% who regularly end up in Buddy Class, can't stay on task, actively practice work avoidance and see Room 3 a couple times but if you keep them in a bit and call their parents in they pull their head in long enough to learn *something*. One bad day in the year they might have a Take Home or a suspension for fighting when the other kid called their mum a whore. Then there are the 5%.
They're like Voldemort. We do not speak their name.
They are the kid who punches or kicks the glass door until it shatters. They are the kid who find rusty blades and threaten the rest of the class. They are the kid who regularly put others in a headlock and call the teacher a F***g Bitch. They are the kid who set fire to the toilet seats. They are the ones who throw chairs at other children and try to kneecap them before pushing them down the stairs.
He Who Would Be Alpha Male is in the 5%.
I'm lucky really - I only have the one. There's a teacher upstairs in Room 13 (again it's Room 13 with the serious issues) who has two pyromaniacs. We thought she only had one, but he was in the room when the toilet was set on fire ... the one just back from Naughty Boy's School was missing at the time. There's little doubt left it was him.
I have to say though, thank goodness for Naughty Boy's School because if one of my list wasn't in there I'd have a matched set of psychopaths too!
The other kids settled down when He Who Would Be Alpha Male was out for two days. We have 5 more days of bliss. I have much work to do with the child who can't read. He's eleven and in Year 6. I did some Running Record training on Thursday (where again everyone was very tolerant of my utter ignorance and the principal made sure I was able to ask all my questions)We have to test every child and The Department wants the results entered for every child under Level 30 regardless of their age. You need a child ot be on about Level 3 before you can do a successful Running Record on them so they said don't bother with the new 5yos basically. Erm ... I hope that also applies to this boy - he's got about the same reading ability.
We did some cooking though and my class is full of student work ready for Acquaintance Night next Tuesday. parents still scare me but I've spoken to two now and soon, no doubt I'll be a pro!