Another Day At School- 1 ( May 7, 2009 )
PERIOD 3, DAY 6, May 7, 2009
I came to school and started my day at the veranda of our department office having a cup of coffee on a desk with my feet on a chair and reading this excellent book on compassionate classroom.
Then the bell rang, and I went down to the Middle School to have my one-on-one class with A, a boy I had since he was in 6th grade and is under the threat of being kicked out of school because of his academic and behavioral condition. When I heard of him in trouble, I requested the LR office to look after him, but then they said, he never shows up, I gave it a try and asked him - "If I volunteer to be your teacher will you attend extra classes for LR with me?". I didn't expect his reply because it's been two years that we haven't kept in touch and kids change fast. His quick reply was " ya sure!". It surprised the office but til this day, we are meeting for our LR classes.
Today we had our class under a huge tree. We reviewed for his Health class on drugs, its uses, kinds and misuse. He just had his best friend who was also a student of mine kicked out for smoking weeds. When we discussed grugs, he initially proudly asked for tips how get hooked and drugged and I took it lightly and made fun of it, until I slowly gave him a real dose of experiences from my own personal examples.
He asked "how many tablets of sleeping pills will it take to knock me down", this boy has been depressed for a long time, he was often spaced -out in class dragging himself from one class to another. Then I told him, I have a "cousin" who overdosed her self with pills, survived it, and got laughed at the next day for not succeeding in killing herself by her classmates. He was more grossed out when I told him, she was vommiting and had needles for dextrose etc.
Then we talked about caffeine and MSG, coke etc.. He was so excited about my story on my overdose of coffee when I was younger only to be grossed out by the effects of it when I shared about it. So he gave up on sleeping pills and caffeine and now wanted tips from me about cocaine and heroine. I gave him another example of this discovery channel documentation. That grossed him some more, then I told him, hey it was sure interesting, wasn't it? He didn't look convinced.
He couldn't believe how hash can stay in your bloodstream and hair and how it can ruin future educational and job opportunities for him. Not to mention it damages brain cells. I talked about how girls reject rejects, and how uncool it is to hang out with a druggie!
He asked me if I ever did drugs and what made me choose what I chose? I shared a really funny story of happy chicken with him and hash brownies I had by accident. But he asked why I chose not to get hooked or try it, I said, who wouldn't be curious bt hey I have dreams and goals in life and I hate being a loser! It works when you use their language!
I gave an example of fraternities who end up killing each other without meaning to, just because they were feeling weak and lonely, just because they did not know how to control their thoughs and emotions. I was speaking to him in a very peer level talk with cussing, yeah, to make it realistic, and gave only real examples. I told him about a relative who went crazy because of drugs and all she had to go through.
His excitement subsided.. he stopped asking for tips to give him a high, the giggling stopped, he bowed his head and said "I'll never do it...., I didn't know these things can happen.."
Kids appreciate authenticity especially if you don't make them feel you know better than them. I felt exploring it with them honestly gives it a more grounding experience for them. We actually explored what if he does this, takes this much, takes it for this length of time, experiences its effect and then what... we sat and figured out his future together. It was kind fun actually, there was a lot laughing imagining how he would look like if he was a heroine addict with his arms bruised with needles and face scary like a skull covered with skin, we were both grossed out with our vivid imagination and ended up laughing in disgust!
The bell rang, we bid each other goodbye. The tree was left alone.
I came to school and started my day at the veranda of our department office having a cup of coffee on a desk with my feet on a chair and reading this excellent book on compassionate classroom.
Then the bell rang, and I went down to the Middle School to have my one-on-one class with A, a boy I had since he was in 6th grade and is under the threat of being kicked out of school because of his academic and behavioral condition. When I heard of him in trouble, I requested the LR office to look after him, but then they said, he never shows up, I gave it a try and asked him - "If I volunteer to be your teacher will you attend extra classes for LR with me?". I didn't expect his reply because it's been two years that we haven't kept in touch and kids change fast. His quick reply was " ya sure!". It surprised the office but til this day, we are meeting for our LR classes.
Today we had our class under a huge tree. We reviewed for his Health class on drugs, its uses, kinds and misuse. He just had his best friend who was also a student of mine kicked out for smoking weeds. When we discussed grugs, he initially proudly asked for tips how get hooked and drugged and I took it lightly and made fun of it, until I slowly gave him a real dose of experiences from my own personal examples.
He asked "how many tablets of sleeping pills will it take to knock me down", this boy has been depressed for a long time, he was often spaced -out in class dragging himself from one class to another. Then I told him, I have a "cousin" who overdosed her self with pills, survived it, and got laughed at the next day for not succeeding in killing herself by her classmates. He was more grossed out when I told him, she was vommiting and had needles for dextrose etc.
Then we talked about caffeine and MSG, coke etc.. He was so excited about my story on my overdose of coffee when I was younger only to be grossed out by the effects of it when I shared about it. So he gave up on sleeping pills and caffeine and now wanted tips from me about cocaine and heroine. I gave him another example of this discovery channel documentation. That grossed him some more, then I told him, hey it was sure interesting, wasn't it? He didn't look convinced.
He couldn't believe how hash can stay in your bloodstream and hair and how it can ruin future educational and job opportunities for him. Not to mention it damages brain cells. I talked about how girls reject rejects, and how uncool it is to hang out with a druggie!
He asked me if I ever did drugs and what made me choose what I chose? I shared a really funny story of happy chicken with him and hash brownies I had by accident. But he asked why I chose not to get hooked or try it, I said, who wouldn't be curious bt hey I have dreams and goals in life and I hate being a loser! It works when you use their language!
I gave an example of fraternities who end up killing each other without meaning to, just because they were feeling weak and lonely, just because they did not know how to control their thoughs and emotions. I was speaking to him in a very peer level talk with cussing, yeah, to make it realistic, and gave only real examples. I told him about a relative who went crazy because of drugs and all she had to go through.
His excitement subsided.. he stopped asking for tips to give him a high, the giggling stopped, he bowed his head and said "I'll never do it...., I didn't know these things can happen.."
Kids appreciate authenticity especially if you don't make them feel you know better than them. I felt exploring it with them honestly gives it a more grounding experience for them. We actually explored what if he does this, takes this much, takes it for this length of time, experiences its effect and then what... we sat and figured out his future together. It was kind fun actually, there was a lot laughing imagining how he would look like if he was a heroine addict with his arms bruised with needles and face scary like a skull covered with skin, we were both grossed out with our vivid imagination and ended up laughing in disgust!
The bell rang, we bid each other goodbye. The tree was left alone.
Comments
Post a Comment