Did you ever hear about the Isle of Misfit Toys? If I remember correctly it was were all the broken toys went since they weren't perfect like all the other toys that Santa had. Eventually Rudolph and friends convinced Santa to take the toys to happy homes where they are all wanted.
Well I some what feel like many times some of the kids that come through my doors might be like those toys that ended up on the Isle of Misfits - just not perfect in everyone else's eyes. Maybe they don't know how to read, and I mean they really don't (some read at a 3rd grade level as freshman) but the compensate by smiling and working hard and cover it up real well. Or maybe they can't compute basic math problems - several of my kids need calculators to compute 9-3. How did they make it this far? Don't know, don't care - at this point I'm tired of people worrying about who is to blame. Just fix it. Our babies deserve better than this. Many of these kids and I started out rough for the first part of the year. I've had my fair share cuss me out, I've been called a name or two, I've written several up for it....but with almost all of them we now have a very different relationship. I won't forget one day, at the beginning of last semester I had two boys in one class continuing to goof off and do nothing. Not only do nothing but disrupt the rest of class and after repeatedly calling them down I wrote them up. After that they were a little better but I noticed them passing notes a few days later. When I walked over to see what was going, one wadded up the note and stuck it in his mouth, then took it out and threw it away, convinced I wouldn't touch it then. Well, I didn't in front of them. But after class, I went to the trash and found the note and pulled it out. Now, you might be thinking "EEEEWWWWW!" And trust me I did too but I was really struggling with these two and I believe you can't fix something if you don't know what's wrong so I was just looking for some clue for what to do with them. When I unfolded the note and read it, I almost cried. I expected some really mean and nasty things about me and my appearance or whatever. Instead the note read something like "how can she expect us to learn anything when she doesn't know how to teach". And I remember thinking, your right I don't know how to teach, I'm learning myself everyday but what I'm doing with you isn't working at all. Since then, I've tried a different approach with those boys - less authoritative and more caring. They know I will still right them up if needed (I've told the kids while I love my babies at home, I also love them enough to punish them when they disobey and I will do the same with my class kids!) but this relationship is working so much better for me and them. I've gotten to learn a little more about them and what makes them tick and I can generally get them to work for me. Today one of the kids, after a particularly hilarious start to class, asked me "Mrs. Snell do you like me being in your class?" To which I replied "Absolutley!" And he asked "Are you sure? I mean seriously?" And from the bottom of my heart the only answer I had was yes because he is one of my Misfits. And while we all may not be perfect in every way, I am loving every moment that God has given me to help these perceived Misfits to reach all the potential that is there for them to succeed!
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