As I may have mentioned (ad nauseum to those who see me daily) I have a truly delightful class this year. My kids are interesting and have great personalities. They aren't vanilla ice cream kiddos, by which I mean kids who just sit quietly all the time and follow every direction. We have snags and challenges just nothing major.
One little guy sort of shows it all about our class. I'm going to call him David after the main character in David Shannon's books. We spend a lot of time being driven crazy by him but adoring him all the same.
His kindergarten teacher, in the first week of school, asked me if I'd seen his grouchy face. She said I would love it. I do. He gets upset and huffs and puffs, stamps around, and scrunches up his face. His two favorite phrases are "That's not fair!" and "Not again!"
Another teacher works one-on-one with David everyday for half an hour and she has the greatest stories to tell about their time together. She is an astounding teacher and has infinite patience with him. I'm amazed by it. Recently she picked him up one morning and he was cranky. She did everything she could to build him up and keep him going.
He got really stubborn and told her that he wasn't going to read the S's at the end of words (something they had been working on). He read an entire book without the S's. If he messed up and read the word correctly he would go back, reread, and leave it off. He worked harder to read the book incorrectly than he would have done if he had read it accurately.
He, like the rest of the class, challenges me, keeps me on my toes, and keeps me smiling. Thank goodness for them all.
1 comment:
I am student teaching in a first grade classroom and we also have a "David." We call him "the stomper." If he's not ready for a transition -- he stomps and pouts. If he doesn't finish all 40 addition math facts in the one minute allotted -- he stomps and pouts. You get the picture. On the other hand, he is smart, determined, enthusiastic about learning and full of personality. I am learning to embrace the positive sides of even the "quirkiest" students and it makes every day a joy. I heartily agree with you -- thank goodness for them all!
Post a Comment