Help for Rohan
Hello everyone,
This is especially to all you teachers out there who might have some ideas for helping me out. I have got to figure out a way to help Rohan start acting like a junior higher. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Rohan is the latest addition to 7th grade. He's young. He's tiny. He's an only child. He acts like a second grader. Severely immature. Not ready for junior high at all. We had a long talk at lunch today, Rohan and I. He pushed one too many of my buttons in social studies. The sad thing is that he doesn't mean to. He is really trying to fit in. He just doesn't have a clue. First of all, every time I open my mouth to say something to the class, he has a comment. It isn't malicious, just very annoying when you are trying to teach. We have talked about appropriate times in class to comment, about raising his hand and getting permission to talk before blurting out a story. He doesn't get it. He has a volume problem as well. Everything is shouted at the top of his lungs. Em, I've even brought up the whole inside voice thing, but like I've said before, he doesn't get it. He is not able to stay in his seat, either. He is constantly out of his chair sharpening his pencil, throwing away papers, talking to other students, etc. Rohan also has to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so. I'm not sure what that is all about. I've moved him up to be right in front of me when I teach so I can lay a hand on his shoulder to try to calm him down. It doesn’t work. I stand next to his desk. It doesn't work. I write his name on the board. It doesn't work. I give him pushups. It doesn't work. I've put him on a warning system. It doesn't work. We've called his parents. It doesn't work.
Today I about lost it with him. We have limited books in our class, so kids have to share to see the color pictures in the textbook. Some kids have books, but the majority have photocopies. Rohan had a book. Emphasis on had. In the middle of talking about the middle ages and the feudal system, I look down to see him flipping through the pages so fast that he was ripping some of them in his haste to try to discover some piece of information about the Roman Empire. I stopped teaching, leaned over, told Rohan to stay on task with the middle ages and to treat his book with respect or he would lose the privilege of having one. 30 seconds later, he was back at it. So I removed the book from his reach and handed him a photocopied packet. He was not happy. He burst into tears and fits of sniffling. He kept begging me to have his book back, that he would be very good, that he would prove worthy of the responsibility. I stayed strong and denied him. I've never made one of my students cry before. I told him to see me after class. I don't know what I feel for this kid. Pity, sadness, frustration, at his lack of social skills. Like I said before, his actions aren't malicious in any way. He doesn't mean to be socially inept. He doesn't mean to be rude or disrupt the class. I think he's lonely and I know that he wants friends. But he's going about it all wrong. I think he needs positive attention, but I don't know how to give it to him when I have to spend my whole time correcting him. So we talked for a bit at lunch. I explained that he needs to act like he's in junior high now, not elementary school; that I expect a certain level of maturity from him that I believe he is capable of; that to have a book in my class is a privilege that he must earn back by showing me that he can behave in class by not talking out of turn, raising his hand, treating his photocopies with respect, etc. We'll see how it goes. I have hope. And I don't think that removing him from the class or yelling at him is going to work. If any of you out there have a clue what to do or any ideas, please let me know. I want this kid to succeed and grow in the process, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right.
Help please,
Kate
This is especially to all you teachers out there who might have some ideas for helping me out. I have got to figure out a way to help Rohan start acting like a junior higher. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Rohan is the latest addition to 7th grade. He's young. He's tiny. He's an only child. He acts like a second grader. Severely immature. Not ready for junior high at all. We had a long talk at lunch today, Rohan and I. He pushed one too many of my buttons in social studies. The sad thing is that he doesn't mean to. He is really trying to fit in. He just doesn't have a clue. First of all, every time I open my mouth to say something to the class, he has a comment. It isn't malicious, just very annoying when you are trying to teach. We have talked about appropriate times in class to comment, about raising his hand and getting permission to talk before blurting out a story. He doesn't get it. He has a volume problem as well. Everything is shouted at the top of his lungs. Em, I've even brought up the whole inside voice thing, but like I've said before, he doesn't get it. He is not able to stay in his seat, either. He is constantly out of his chair sharpening his pencil, throwing away papers, talking to other students, etc. Rohan also has to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so. I'm not sure what that is all about. I've moved him up to be right in front of me when I teach so I can lay a hand on his shoulder to try to calm him down. It doesn’t work. I stand next to his desk. It doesn't work. I write his name on the board. It doesn't work. I give him pushups. It doesn't work. I've put him on a warning system. It doesn't work. We've called his parents. It doesn't work.
Today I about lost it with him. We have limited books in our class, so kids have to share to see the color pictures in the textbook. Some kids have books, but the majority have photocopies. Rohan had a book. Emphasis on had. In the middle of talking about the middle ages and the feudal system, I look down to see him flipping through the pages so fast that he was ripping some of them in his haste to try to discover some piece of information about the Roman Empire. I stopped teaching, leaned over, told Rohan to stay on task with the middle ages and to treat his book with respect or he would lose the privilege of having one. 30 seconds later, he was back at it. So I removed the book from his reach and handed him a photocopied packet. He was not happy. He burst into tears and fits of sniffling. He kept begging me to have his book back, that he would be very good, that he would prove worthy of the responsibility. I stayed strong and denied him. I've never made one of my students cry before. I told him to see me after class. I don't know what I feel for this kid. Pity, sadness, frustration, at his lack of social skills. Like I said before, his actions aren't malicious in any way. He doesn't mean to be socially inept. He doesn't mean to be rude or disrupt the class. I think he's lonely and I know that he wants friends. But he's going about it all wrong. I think he needs positive attention, but I don't know how to give it to him when I have to spend my whole time correcting him. So we talked for a bit at lunch. I explained that he needs to act like he's in junior high now, not elementary school; that I expect a certain level of maturity from him that I believe he is capable of; that to have a book in my class is a privilege that he must earn back by showing me that he can behave in class by not talking out of turn, raising his hand, treating his photocopies with respect, etc. We'll see how it goes. I have hope. And I don't think that removing him from the class or yelling at him is going to work. If any of you out there have a clue what to do or any ideas, please let me know. I want this kid to succeed and grow in the process, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right.
Help please,
Kate