Amazed

I am amazed at students today. Sometimes it is a good amazement, sometimes it's more appauling. I have had both situations today. I have a student for 5 days. He was suspended from the local middle school and they did not want him to get behind since he does have an IEP. I agreed to work with him, afterall, it's only five days. The problem this kid has is not his learning disabilities, it's his last night. He is the youngest of three boys. Since the older boys have been in and out of trouble (I've had one in the night program and one successfully complete the day program) he is automatically labeled as a cruddy kid. He is a great kid! He is eager to please and loves to work. He just needs someone to give him the time of day. I'll admit, when I heard his last night, I was hesitant because of the actions of one of the other brothers, but he has proven to have a hard work ethic and he is very smart! He has completed five days of Math work in less than an hour today, he took a Math quiz. He has finished about 3/4 of his English work, 1/4 of Social Studies, and 1/3 of Science. If he works at this pace tomorrow, he could very easily have his five days worth of work done in 2! It is our goal to have all of the work done by tomorrow so that he can call the principal (with my permission) and tell her that he has all of his work done. That will knock her socks off!

But I've also had the extreme today. The guy that drives the van, picked up our youngest student today (he's 13) and commented by saying, "You smell like smoke, and not tobacco." The student claimed he had been home all morning, then later he changed his story to say he was in a car with someone who was smoking pot...anyways, long story short. I had him tested. He admitted to the officer before even filling the cup that it would come back positive for THC. They did a rapid test, and sure enough, he wasn't lying! The sad thing was, this all happened right before he left for a hearing with the school. This will defiantly cause some trouble in his life, but legally, I had to have him checked. He came to school high.

It amazes me how the kids who come from the messed up homes can be so stable, and the kids that come from stable homes can be so messed up!