I went camping
And it was absolute hell by the end but I just wanted to share that I am terribly glad I don't have to deal with a special needs child 24/7. I don't think I could be the full time special ed teacher either.
I'm not sure what is, shall we say, different about his particular child but he's Very Hard Work. He's in year 7 so he'd be 12-13 and he's huge. like obese and I think he has some sort of physical limitation to do with movement becasue he lumbers. There's no other way to put it, he just lumbers along.
He was driving the other teachers batty within an hour of arriving at the camp. I was being driven batty too, don't get me wrong but they were either smart, burnt out from him already (apparently Mr PE had to dress him last year ...) or I was particularly naive or gullible ... LOL no seriously I was commended for my patience and all that.
So that first afternoon I managed to 'deal' with him. I dealt with the rock throwing ... and the big long swishy stick ... and then I dealt with the dinner time wandering ... and the night hike ... and the "I MUST HAVE A TORCH EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T BRING ONE AND I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD GIVE ME ONE NOW" incident ... So, in the morning when it was learning activity time I was about to go off with my group when Mr PE brought over This Particular Child and said "This Particular Child needs to go with you - becasue if I have him, I'll send him home."
The goal is to keep them on camp, really. I took it as a sort of compliment.
I about got down and worshipped the Special Ed teacher when she came up for the night. I had him for Bird Watching ... no we cannot go to the water ... no, huge boulders don't float ... nor do massoive tree logs and you cannot throw them into the pond ... yes you do have to walk back up the hill to the dining room ... yes I know we are left behind that's because you are refusing to go up the steps ...
I had him for Possum Hunting ... no you can't have the camera, it's a teacher's camera and I need it ... yes we are gong to walk this way ... no you don't get a choice ... it's not my fault there isn't a possum in the box ... no you can't carry the big long infra red camera on a pole ... yes you do have to wash your hands before lunch ...
Then he decided to go Orienteering and I had a dodgy knee so I was doing Earth Art and another teacher had him for a while but he came with me for the Forest Walk ... yes you have to go all the way up to the top of the hill ... no you can't stay down the bottom alone ... no your back isn't breaking ... no your feet aren't falling off ... no you are still not allowed to throw anything in the pond ...
I tell you, never was Ms Special Ed so welcome in my life.
She had to go back to school this morning though so it was back on. Yeah ... we're going to the pond ... yes you have to go down the hill to get to the pond ... yes it is exciting you caught a yabbie ... no you can't take it home ... no it's way too big to go under the microscope ... no you cannot play with the microscope ... yes it will break if you touch it ... yes you have to wash your hands after they ahve been in pond water ... no you can't have morning tea until you wash them ...
(Fine - but if you die from some crazy bug don't blame me ...)
Then it was Nature's Recycling. Look, I'm not a huge fan of compost either but wandering off is not cool. Yes you will stay where I can see you ... no you cannot stay up here flicking a stick around ... no you cannot throw stones ... yes I will get cranky about it ... no I'm not staying ehre with you ... yes you have to come with us to the Magic Forest to look for worms and things ...
Okay, fine go to the toilet in Dormitory 5 even though we are not using Dormitory 5 and I don't understand your reasoning for needing to use that particular toilet and everyone else has long vanished and this is the second time you being recalcitrant has resulted in us losing the group ...
Mr PE, hello? Yes, This Particular Child has locked himself in the toilet of Dormitory 5 and refuses to come out and is swearing at me ... help ...
I lasted from 4pm Wednesday until 11:30am on Friday and then I just couldn't take it any longer. Man, I love my mobile phone! I feel bad I didn't last the extra hour until the lesson was finished but oh boy, I think Ms Science who came up for the day was in complete awe - the kids were so bad that she was supervising she didn't know how we hadn't murdered them all by now. She told everyone in the staff room to give me a round of applause LOL! I don't know that it was anything out what my job is, you know? But it's nice to be appreciated for doing it.
During the last lesson one of 'My Boys' wandered away from the group as I was hovering between the composting station and the place This Particular Child was abusing a couple of reeds and said how annoying This Particular Child was being and it was frustrating him. I then noticed as he and his mate - who are both My Boys (in my class) were hovering near me. Now they hadn't been able to get near me really because of This Particular Child (look I don't need to hug another sweaty body for quite sometime ...) When This Particular Child was refusing to accompany us to the Magic Forest My Boy was trying to encourge him to come along and telling him he'd be able to find a bigger stick down there, come on, lets go look etc etc. he was really caring - and yet at the same time I think his motivation was slightly more that he wanted to be near me and he couldn't if I was at the back - again - with this Particular Child. I spent most of the time dragging and pushing and pulling This Particualr Child towards the rest of the group so they didn't get a lot of my time.
Anyway I left him with Mr PE and My Boys then plied me with requests to hold their decomposed leaves, look at their frogs (we caught two!) and check out their mushrooms. I think they were feeling a bit deprived. They've often shown a need to hang out with me. They often come over to the time out table in front of my desk and honestly the reason seems solely to be near me. They were having the same sort of moment and I really think they had begun to resent This Particular Child taking up that time/space.
Anyway, this is the Magic Forest
And a picture of me in the forest taken by a student
So He Who Would BE Alpha male was supposed to go on camp. And then he got suspended for going a little bit bokers during a whole school activity ... and he negotiated that he could still go if he didn't put a toe out of line for Monday and Tuesday (we left on Wednesday) and he was a model student all before recess ... and then someone called him a name as we lined up after recess and He Who Would Be Alpha Male charged him (and I though Oh no, there goes your camp ...), threw him to the ground and proceeded to put him in a headlock and punch him in the head.
It was not auspicious.
He Who Would Be Alpha Male did not come on camp. The social worker he sees every tuesday was so disappointed when she came and I told her ... um ... he's been suspended. He'd been doing so well for 5 weeks or so, we JUST had a meeting with the behaviour management guy and I felt so sad for him but ... *shrug*
There was one other kid I CHASED to get money and forms back so he could go on camp and he was being a right little bugger and at one point I was like "I have had enough, I'm not chasing for him ANYMORE!" Luckily the Ab Ed teacher (the child is aboriginal) picked up the ball and got the Aboriginal Education Support Officer to get mum in to pay the money. Then Ms Science photocopied new forms and gave them to him on Monday and wrote CAMP on his arm in permanent texta. Then when he didn't turn up on Tuesday with the forms - or indeed himself - they went around there, gave mum a pen and watched her sign it, then brought the kid to school (he had been bitten by a dog on the shoulder). He was okay, it was a small bite but the dysfunction is just unbelievable. I took him on a local walking excursion last week without the permission slip signed because he just couldn't manage to bring it back. The Deputy gave me permission, basically. It's not his fault mum can't seem to get off her butt and sign forms. Anyway so he's a little bugger most of the time, he comes to school late, he's often confrontational and it's usually because he hasn't eaten and he hasn't been to bed to speak of so he's tired and hungry and the LAST thing he wants to do is school work. His literacy is pretty good for a kid who work avoids like tghere's no tomorrow.
Anyway I was sort of dreading camp with him. I think so was Mr PE ... I think so was Ms Science ... but I tell you I am demanding he get a special Principal's Award - and Mr PE said "Me too, in fact all five of us will sign that one!" he was SUCH an angel. He was soooooooooo Engaged, he was totally into it all - the bird watching, the worm farming, the freshwater life - he LOVED the microscopes, he was just such a different kid out there! it was amazing and I'm SO glad I fought so hard to get him on camp.
Mr PE, who's a bit taciturn and solemn at the best of times was handing this kid chocolate frogs all morning and telling him how wonderful he was. As for the kid himself he was so dleightful. The Acting Principal cmae up for dinner last night and this little one latched onto her, sat with her as she had her meal - he'd already had his dessert.
"This food's great isn't it Ms Acting Principal? They give you heaps don't they? Have you had dessert? You get dessert! That's great isn't it? It's gunna be ice cream. I hope you like ice cream cos it's a HUGE bowl!"
I said to Ms Science that I reckon at least 50% of his improvement in behaviour was due to being fed properly. The rest of it was just that it was such a hands on experience. Now I know I can't make everything as exciting as catching frogs and finding possums, but I'm bringing a bag of apples next week. The New principal cna say all she likes that a kid can learn with an engaging program and it shouldn't matter if they had breakfast or not but it isn't true.
Mr Drama asked this child if he'd enjoyed camp and got a list of the food he ate! The Aboriginal Support Worker took him home ... no one from home botehred to come pick up the little kid with his bags :( He honestly was such a delight to have on camp. I just hope he doesn't turn back into a little bugger next week. But he'll be underfed, under parented and probably won't have enough sleep again *sigh*
I am absolutely shattered but even if it was just for that one kid - it was worth it.
I'm not sure what is, shall we say, different about his particular child but he's Very Hard Work. He's in year 7 so he'd be 12-13 and he's huge. like obese and I think he has some sort of physical limitation to do with movement becasue he lumbers. There's no other way to put it, he just lumbers along.
He was driving the other teachers batty within an hour of arriving at the camp. I was being driven batty too, don't get me wrong but they were either smart, burnt out from him already (apparently Mr PE had to dress him last year ...) or I was particularly naive or gullible ... LOL no seriously I was commended for my patience and all that.
So that first afternoon I managed to 'deal' with him. I dealt with the rock throwing ... and the big long swishy stick ... and then I dealt with the dinner time wandering ... and the night hike ... and the "I MUST HAVE A TORCH EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T BRING ONE AND I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD GIVE ME ONE NOW" incident ... So, in the morning when it was learning activity time I was about to go off with my group when Mr PE brought over This Particular Child and said "This Particular Child needs to go with you - becasue if I have him, I'll send him home."
The goal is to keep them on camp, really. I took it as a sort of compliment.
I about got down and worshipped the Special Ed teacher when she came up for the night. I had him for Bird Watching ... no we cannot go to the water ... no, huge boulders don't float ... nor do massoive tree logs and you cannot throw them into the pond ... yes you do have to walk back up the hill to the dining room ... yes I know we are left behind that's because you are refusing to go up the steps ...
I had him for Possum Hunting ... no you can't have the camera, it's a teacher's camera and I need it ... yes we are gong to walk this way ... no you don't get a choice ... it's not my fault there isn't a possum in the box ... no you can't carry the big long infra red camera on a pole ... yes you do have to wash your hands before lunch ...
Then he decided to go Orienteering and I had a dodgy knee so I was doing Earth Art and another teacher had him for a while but he came with me for the Forest Walk ... yes you have to go all the way up to the top of the hill ... no you can't stay down the bottom alone ... no your back isn't breaking ... no your feet aren't falling off ... no you are still not allowed to throw anything in the pond ...
I tell you, never was Ms Special Ed so welcome in my life.
She had to go back to school this morning though so it was back on. Yeah ... we're going to the pond ... yes you have to go down the hill to get to the pond ... yes it is exciting you caught a yabbie ... no you can't take it home ... no it's way too big to go under the microscope ... no you cannot play with the microscope ... yes it will break if you touch it ... yes you have to wash your hands after they ahve been in pond water ... no you can't have morning tea until you wash them ...
(Fine - but if you die from some crazy bug don't blame me ...)
Then it was Nature's Recycling. Look, I'm not a huge fan of compost either but wandering off is not cool. Yes you will stay where I can see you ... no you cannot stay up here flicking a stick around ... no you cannot throw stones ... yes I will get cranky about it ... no I'm not staying ehre with you ... yes you have to come with us to the Magic Forest to look for worms and things ...
Okay, fine go to the toilet in Dormitory 5 even though we are not using Dormitory 5 and I don't understand your reasoning for needing to use that particular toilet and everyone else has long vanished and this is the second time you being recalcitrant has resulted in us losing the group ...
Mr PE, hello? Yes, This Particular Child has locked himself in the toilet of Dormitory 5 and refuses to come out and is swearing at me ... help ...
I lasted from 4pm Wednesday until 11:30am on Friday and then I just couldn't take it any longer. Man, I love my mobile phone! I feel bad I didn't last the extra hour until the lesson was finished but oh boy, I think Ms Science who came up for the day was in complete awe - the kids were so bad that she was supervising she didn't know how we hadn't murdered them all by now. She told everyone in the staff room to give me a round of applause LOL! I don't know that it was anything out what my job is, you know? But it's nice to be appreciated for doing it.
During the last lesson one of 'My Boys' wandered away from the group as I was hovering between the composting station and the place This Particular Child was abusing a couple of reeds and said how annoying This Particular Child was being and it was frustrating him. I then noticed as he and his mate - who are both My Boys (in my class) were hovering near me. Now they hadn't been able to get near me really because of This Particular Child (look I don't need to hug another sweaty body for quite sometime ...) When This Particular Child was refusing to accompany us to the Magic Forest My Boy was trying to encourge him to come along and telling him he'd be able to find a bigger stick down there, come on, lets go look etc etc. he was really caring - and yet at the same time I think his motivation was slightly more that he wanted to be near me and he couldn't if I was at the back - again - with this Particular Child. I spent most of the time dragging and pushing and pulling This Particualr Child towards the rest of the group so they didn't get a lot of my time.
Anyway I left him with Mr PE and My Boys then plied me with requests to hold their decomposed leaves, look at their frogs (we caught two!) and check out their mushrooms. I think they were feeling a bit deprived. They've often shown a need to hang out with me. They often come over to the time out table in front of my desk and honestly the reason seems solely to be near me. They were having the same sort of moment and I really think they had begun to resent This Particular Child taking up that time/space.
Anyway, this is the Magic Forest
And a picture of me in the forest taken by a student
So He Who Would BE Alpha male was supposed to go on camp. And then he got suspended for going a little bit bokers during a whole school activity ... and he negotiated that he could still go if he didn't put a toe out of line for Monday and Tuesday (we left on Wednesday) and he was a model student all before recess ... and then someone called him a name as we lined up after recess and He Who Would Be Alpha Male charged him (and I though Oh no, there goes your camp ...), threw him to the ground and proceeded to put him in a headlock and punch him in the head.
It was not auspicious.
He Who Would Be Alpha Male did not come on camp. The social worker he sees every tuesday was so disappointed when she came and I told her ... um ... he's been suspended. He'd been doing so well for 5 weeks or so, we JUST had a meeting with the behaviour management guy and I felt so sad for him but ... *shrug*
There was one other kid I CHASED to get money and forms back so he could go on camp and he was being a right little bugger and at one point I was like "I have had enough, I'm not chasing for him ANYMORE!" Luckily the Ab Ed teacher (the child is aboriginal) picked up the ball and got the Aboriginal Education Support Officer to get mum in to pay the money. Then Ms Science photocopied new forms and gave them to him on Monday and wrote CAMP on his arm in permanent texta. Then when he didn't turn up on Tuesday with the forms - or indeed himself - they went around there, gave mum a pen and watched her sign it, then brought the kid to school (he had been bitten by a dog on the shoulder). He was okay, it was a small bite but the dysfunction is just unbelievable. I took him on a local walking excursion last week without the permission slip signed because he just couldn't manage to bring it back. The Deputy gave me permission, basically. It's not his fault mum can't seem to get off her butt and sign forms. Anyway so he's a little bugger most of the time, he comes to school late, he's often confrontational and it's usually because he hasn't eaten and he hasn't been to bed to speak of so he's tired and hungry and the LAST thing he wants to do is school work. His literacy is pretty good for a kid who work avoids like tghere's no tomorrow.
Anyway I was sort of dreading camp with him. I think so was Mr PE ... I think so was Ms Science ... but I tell you I am demanding he get a special Principal's Award - and Mr PE said "Me too, in fact all five of us will sign that one!" he was SUCH an angel. He was soooooooooo Engaged, he was totally into it all - the bird watching, the worm farming, the freshwater life - he LOVED the microscopes, he was just such a different kid out there! it was amazing and I'm SO glad I fought so hard to get him on camp.
Mr PE, who's a bit taciturn and solemn at the best of times was handing this kid chocolate frogs all morning and telling him how wonderful he was. As for the kid himself he was so dleightful. The Acting Principal cmae up for dinner last night and this little one latched onto her, sat with her as she had her meal - he'd already had his dessert.
"This food's great isn't it Ms Acting Principal? They give you heaps don't they? Have you had dessert? You get dessert! That's great isn't it? It's gunna be ice cream. I hope you like ice cream cos it's a HUGE bowl!"
I said to Ms Science that I reckon at least 50% of his improvement in behaviour was due to being fed properly. The rest of it was just that it was such a hands on experience. Now I know I can't make everything as exciting as catching frogs and finding possums, but I'm bringing a bag of apples next week. The New principal cna say all she likes that a kid can learn with an engaging program and it shouldn't matter if they had breakfast or not but it isn't true.
Mr Drama asked this child if he'd enjoyed camp and got a list of the food he ate! The Aboriginal Support Worker took him home ... no one from home botehred to come pick up the little kid with his bags :( He honestly was such a delight to have on camp. I just hope he doesn't turn back into a little bugger next week. But he'll be underfed, under parented and probably won't have enough sleep again *sigh*
I am absolutely shattered but even if it was just for that one kid - it was worth it.