2 things, and a plea for thoughts/ideas!
One: Help! How do I make sustainability a performing art? I might be designing my own class in sustainability (continuity between past-present-future) as an elective next year, but I have to turn it into a performing arts-like class. I was thinking like... how art can be an agent for social change/commentary... but that's a tricky line since while Lab as a whole is rather liberal, my supervisor is Catholic... and I have to pitch my ideas to her. What can I do??? Thoughts or ideas??
Two:
Today, in one of my 3rd/4th grade elementary school classes (I was substituting for a class I've subbed a lot for), this one kid named Gabe was getting really upset and angry... which he does every day. He tends to be (ODDishy) angry and defiant towards teachers and other students almost every day... every day is a rough day... and he sometimes gets to the point of threatening other kids. He'll even say things like "No, I am always angry at you, I hate you, I'm not going to listen to you. I'll punch you in the face!" to a teacher. I've not seen him resort to physical violence other than throwing things places. He really likes cool gadgets, and carries them everywhere. He is honestly a really wonderful, great, smart kid. He's Vietnamese. And he has 2 dads. Some of the kids were making fun of him today for having 2 dads... then they said "wait it's not nice to laugh, it's okay, families come in all types!" and the girls were telling the bullying kid not to make fun. So the bully started saying nice things about different sorts of families, but kept giggling under his breath. Gabe was talking about his 2 dads, but started saying stuff like "yeah it's nasty if you're gay" just to stand up for himself. His dads are great. But you can tell he's just trying to stay above water!
I didn't quite catch onto what was happening til it was too late to completely stop the conversation. We were doing project work, so it wasn't like I could get them to stop talking completely, although in retrospect perhaps I should have tried to enforce "no talking except if it is on task"... although this particular class is SO HARD to discipline, and a little prone to bullying each other. And, since I'm a substitute, even though they like me they still are quite a handful to keep in check.
And, I stopped class and we had a big discussion about these things... since it seemed better to talk about it right then and there rather than to just try and make the kids stop talking about it... since it would come back up later one way or another. I thought it would be better for Gabe, under the circumstances. I told the kids that I brought a girl date to the Gala, and they were all like "whoaa, what?? but is she your girlfriend?" and started being more respectful... but I told them "she's not my girlfriend, she's my friend. But I bet some people thought she was my girlfriend, and I'm totally okay with that! It wouldn't matter at all if she were, and just because I don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean I never would have a girlfriend." and things like that, so on. And we talked about respect and how different kinds of language and relationships mean different things... and I cited the scientific study where kids with 2 moms are better-adjusted than kids with a mom and a dad... we talked about it a lot, until Gabe said he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Then I made the class stop talking about it since he felt spotlighted.
But Gabe was sooo defiant and angry the rest of class, even more so than normal. And I pulled him aside later after class and tried to talk about it with him and tell him I wasn't pulling him aside because I was angry at him, I just wanted to understand and hear him (he had been talking in a way to everyone that was threatening and not okay to talk, and I had made it clear that that language/behavior wasn't acceptable, but tried to be understanding since he was under pressure... disrespectful behavior is not atypical at all for him, and definitely not totally related to what happened in class), but he almost ran away from me down the hall in anger and frustration, and would hardly look at me... so I let him go to eat and cool down. I want to ask a counselor to talk to him about it. And the thing is, while I do think the bullying and his behavior are related, it's not always a direct correlation... BAH
I just wish I could fix it for him and kids like him!! Corey, Jus, anyone else -- any ideas on what I could do in such a situation again?? I know Corey runs a GSA at Northwood High... and it's so different but also the same, at different age levels... And while I handled this situation the best I knew how at the time, hindsight is showing me I should probably have stopped the conversation earlier so he wouldn't get fired up. But if these things are never talked about, then that's just silencing the issue but doing nothing to change it... but maybe next time I should only have a class conversation about it if Gabe's not there? But he's def not the only kid with gay parents, here, there are a TON of kids with gay parents at Lab for whatever reason... Thoughts on this??
Two:
Today, in one of my 3rd/4th grade elementary school classes (I was substituting for a class I've subbed a lot for), this one kid named Gabe was getting really upset and angry... which he does every day. He tends to be (ODDishy) angry and defiant towards teachers and other students almost every day... every day is a rough day... and he sometimes gets to the point of threatening other kids. He'll even say things like "No, I am always angry at you, I hate you, I'm not going to listen to you. I'll punch you in the face!" to a teacher. I've not seen him resort to physical violence other than throwing things places. He really likes cool gadgets, and carries them everywhere. He is honestly a really wonderful, great, smart kid. He's Vietnamese. And he has 2 dads. Some of the kids were making fun of him today for having 2 dads... then they said "wait it's not nice to laugh, it's okay, families come in all types!" and the girls were telling the bullying kid not to make fun. So the bully started saying nice things about different sorts of families, but kept giggling under his breath. Gabe was talking about his 2 dads, but started saying stuff like "yeah it's nasty if you're gay" just to stand up for himself. His dads are great. But you can tell he's just trying to stay above water!
I didn't quite catch onto what was happening til it was too late to completely stop the conversation. We were doing project work, so it wasn't like I could get them to stop talking completely, although in retrospect perhaps I should have tried to enforce "no talking except if it is on task"... although this particular class is SO HARD to discipline, and a little prone to bullying each other. And, since I'm a substitute, even though they like me they still are quite a handful to keep in check.
And, I stopped class and we had a big discussion about these things... since it seemed better to talk about it right then and there rather than to just try and make the kids stop talking about it... since it would come back up later one way or another. I thought it would be better for Gabe, under the circumstances. I told the kids that I brought a girl date to the Gala, and they were all like "whoaa, what?? but is she your girlfriend?" and started being more respectful... but I told them "she's not my girlfriend, she's my friend. But I bet some people thought she was my girlfriend, and I'm totally okay with that! It wouldn't matter at all if she were, and just because I don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean I never would have a girlfriend." and things like that, so on. And we talked about respect and how different kinds of language and relationships mean different things... and I cited the scientific study where kids with 2 moms are better-adjusted than kids with a mom and a dad... we talked about it a lot, until Gabe said he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Then I made the class stop talking about it since he felt spotlighted.
But Gabe was sooo defiant and angry the rest of class, even more so than normal. And I pulled him aside later after class and tried to talk about it with him and tell him I wasn't pulling him aside because I was angry at him, I just wanted to understand and hear him (he had been talking in a way to everyone that was threatening and not okay to talk, and I had made it clear that that language/behavior wasn't acceptable, but tried to be understanding since he was under pressure... disrespectful behavior is not atypical at all for him, and definitely not totally related to what happened in class), but he almost ran away from me down the hall in anger and frustration, and would hardly look at me... so I let him go to eat and cool down. I want to ask a counselor to talk to him about it. And the thing is, while I do think the bullying and his behavior are related, it's not always a direct correlation... BAH
I just wish I could fix it for him and kids like him!! Corey, Jus, anyone else -- any ideas on what I could do in such a situation again?? I know Corey runs a GSA at Northwood High... and it's so different but also the same, at different age levels... And while I handled this situation the best I knew how at the time, hindsight is showing me I should probably have stopped the conversation earlier so he wouldn't get fired up. But if these things are never talked about, then that's just silencing the issue but doing nothing to change it... but maybe next time I should only have a class conversation about it if Gabe's not there? But he's def not the only kid with gay parents, here, there are a TON of kids with gay parents at Lab for whatever reason... Thoughts on this??