6/24

It was almost 11:30 a.m. The class was at P.E.; without my guy there, I didn't have much to do, although tossing and catching beanbags looked like a lot of fun.

I strolled down to the office, which wasn't very far. The Conductor had been sick but she was there today. I told her I'd be happy to hang out, but that so far the district was paying me for half a day in which I had merely supported the other students for a morning.

Voila. He showed up less than five minutes later.

I'm not really sure how a mother thinks someone missing half a day of school is OK. Especially when this happens more often than usual. The thing I don't like about education is the idea that it is a form of indoctrination. It is... I don't love saying "Under God" during the pledge. I don't really even love saying the pledge at all. Some things seem to be done "just because."

But be that as it may, learning how to exist in a world of structure can be seen as indoctrination, but it can also be seen as learning life skills that most of us need to have. And one large component of that is being punctual.

In journalism, it was paramount. But really, in most fields, being on time is something that needs to be mastered. It's professional behavior, and it's courteous. We all have an unknown, limited amount of time. Let's respect each other's.

But this boy needs all the help and structure he can get. So it's a good idea for mom to get her ass moving and get the guy to school on time.

He arrived in a boisterous way; it took about half an hour before he toned it down and got with the program.

Overall, though, he was pretty good today. The two major red-flag areas from last week -- hostility on the playground at recess, and a refusal to do work -- didn't really happen today. On the playground he was in good spirits and played well with others.

And the biggest challenge of the day was during centers. The first center involved a game, so that was easy. It was "Bingo" but the spinner landed on one of five senses, and the cards had pictures which the kids matched to individual senses.

The second center involved words, spelling and making sentences. This is something he hasn't particularly warmed to. But today, he participated. Now, he didn't do great at it. He took the random words and didn't make sentences that were really coherent... but, he tried. He did the work. At this point, getting him to give it a try is a major plus. We'll work on the finer points in time.

I've given him a nickname. The other kids in the class are starting to use it for him. I think he likes that.

The time prior to his arrival I did get to spend some time with the other students. It only took me a week but I now know everyone's name.