Thursday, May 23, 2013

4/24

More, but less.

There were a few more outbursts today than the other days. But, they were significantly less volatile.

The best example I can think of is when the teacher was leading the class and he wanted to respond to a question. So he just blurted out, talking over everyone. She handled it perfectly by not acknowledging him but briefly making eye contact so that it was clear she knew and he knew.

He raised his hand and fumed, "OK, I raised my stinkin' hand."

It would have been bad form to laugh, but it was kind of funny.

***

A few times in class he simply refused to do the work. Strangely, however, this may be seen as a sort of progress. When he refused, he just did something else. And he didn't necessarily detract from what the other students were doing.

So the positive is that his resistance is less problematic, and now rather than being actively disruptive in the class, he's pretty much keeping it to himself.

Later we can work on the instruction part of the equation. For now we simply have to get him not throwing an anchor overboard while the class rows toward first grade.

***

We had huge progress on the playground. Monday and Tuesday had been major problems. Wednesday we stayed inside.

Thursday we let him venture back onto the field. It went extremely well. No outbursts, no fights or f-bombs.

My strategy was to build him up for everything he did and to be loudly proud of his accomplishments. This guy obviously wants some attention; I will provide it if he earns it in a healthy fashion.

For my Arkansas peeps, I drew him a Razorback during the art portion of our class. He dug it. So did some others... I had to make two more for other students.

First week ends tomorrow. I'm cautiously optimistic.

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