School Day Observations

Spent the morning in Josh's class. Always fun. I worked on their reading fluency today. The system we use has the student read a selection for 1 minute. Then I ask them to tell me about what they read. The stories are told in the first person, and do not indicate a gender. Almost all the kids, boy or girl, will retell the story as if it is about a boy. I find that curious.
Then I walked down to Ryan's school, to sit in on the class he is having "behavior issues" in. (I should say the class he has the most problems in) My being there didn't seem to affect him very much, he still got talked to and then asked to move to an empty spot. I know as he looks around at what others are doing and getting away with he wonders why he is getting in trouble. In my opinion, the reason he is getting in trouble is... because he has no excuse for his behavior. Meaning; he KNOWS better, he is capable of proper behavior, he is smart, and he has the ability to be a leader. He has been taught better, and his teachers know that. I spent a few minutes talking with the teacher after class. I asked her to start a weekly behavior report/contract. Then I went and talked to his basketball coach about what the consequences to that contract will be (no playing in games). Now I feel a little better, we'll see how if goes.

P.S. Mom I am very sorry I acted crazy and stood on counters in Mr. K's class when I was in Jr. High!