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Ha ha! Mama Red is so on about throwing out those, ''How to Teach'' books.
Kids in alternative settings are there, primarily because they don't know to behave. And they like to test new people. See if they can find what will push your buttons, make you react.
Some people can roll with it, others get steamrolled by the kids. It is a fine line, if they respect you, everything is fine. Once they lose respect for you, it is all downhill.
OP here. Wow, lots of great replies since I last posted, thank you. I'll try to reply overall to what's been mentioned.
I'm a no-nonsense type of person & it's tough to get a rise out of me. I actually changed my mind...I don't want to get anyone any Christmas gifts. They don't deserve it. These are teenage thugs who don't give a rat's arse (will block it out if I say the other word) about school, listening to the teacher, etc. They're far too gone & it would take some kind of 24/7 strict, military boot camp facility to maybe make an impact on them.
I work with each one 1-on-1. I only work with 3 female students & they're actually great. All the rest are guys. Sometimes, there could be another adult in the room, but that's at unpredictable, random times, so each day is different.
A couple of the male students have already made sexual innuendos. For example, I played Scrabble with many of them this week. Thankfully, they didn't spell out any bad words, but one of them spelled out c U m & commented on words that reminded them of male ejalculation or private parts. One had the gall to ask if I'm a virgin, wanting to hang out with me outside of school, & here's the worst...if someone (I guess me) could jack him off. I told him he needs to watch out what he says & I quickly went back to the activity. From now on, if he asks me if he could ask a question, I'll say that I don't want to hear it. He just needs to do what I tell him to regarding the activity at hand. I should start telling him that he doesn't know when someone's recording what he says & I should actually record his sessions. I don't get paid enough for this treatment! I need to start documenting if anyone says anything inappropriate.
Is it only just September? I want to get outta this hellhole school!!!
OP here. Wow, lots of great replies since I last posted, thank you. I'll try to reply overall to what's been mentioned.
I'm a no-nonsense type of person & it's tough to get a rise out of me. I actually changed my mind...I don't want to get anyone any Christmas gifts. They don't deserve it. These are teenage thugs who don't give a rat's arse (will block it out if I say the other word) about school, listening to the teacher, etc. They're far too gone & it would take some kind of 24/7 strict, military boot camp facility to maybe make an impact on them.
I work with each one 1-on-1. I only work with 3 female students & they're actually great. All the rest are guys. Sometimes, there could be another adult in the room, but that's at unpredictable, random times, so each day is different.
A couple of the male students have already made sexual innuendos. For example, I played Scrabble with many of them this week. Thankfully, they didn't spell out any bad words, but one of them spelled out c U m & commented on words that reminded them of male ejalculation or private parts. One had the gall to ask if I'm a virgin, wanting to hang out with me outside of school, & here's the worst...if someone (I guess me) could jack him off. I told him he needs to watch out what he says & I quickly went back to the activity. From now on, if he asks me if he could ask a question, I'll say that I don't want to hear it. He just needs to do what I tell him to regarding the activity at hand. I should start telling him that he doesn't know when someone's recording what he says & I should actually record his sessions. I don't get paid enough for this treatment! I need to start documenting if anyone says anything inappropriate.
Is it only just September? I want to get outta this hellhole school!!!
Hoping you find a "better" school ASAP...the kids deserve better as well...
OP here. Wow, lots of great replies since I last posted, thank you. I'll try to reply overall to what's been mentioned.
I'm a no-nonsense type of person & it's tough to get a rise out of me. I actually changed my mind...I don't want to get anyone any Christmas gifts. They don't deserve it. These are teenage thugs who don't give a rat's arse (will block it out if I say the other word) about school, listening to the teacher, etc. They're far too gone & it would take some kind of 24/7 strict, military boot camp facility to maybe make an impact on them.
I work with each one 1-on-1. I only work with 3 female students & they're actually great. All the rest are guys. Sometimes, there could be another adult in the room, but that's at unpredictable, random times, so each day is different.
A couple of the male students have already made sexual innuendos. For example, I played Scrabble with many of them this week. Thankfully, they didn't spell out any bad words, but one of them spelled out c U m & commented on words that reminded them of male ejalculation or private parts. One had the gall to ask if I'm a virgin, wanting to hang out with me outside of school, & here's the worst...if someone (I guess me) could jack him off. I told him he needs to watch out what he says & I quickly went back to the activity. From now on, if he asks me if he could ask a question, I'll say that I don't want to hear it. He just needs to do what I tell him to regarding the activity at hand. I should start telling him that he doesn't know when someone's recording what he says & I should actually record his sessions. I don't get paid enough for this treatment! I need to start documenting if anyone says anything inappropriate.
Is it only just September? I want to get outta this hellhole school!!!
It takes a very special, unique person to work in alternate settings. I really do think they need to be better paid when you find one that is effective and manages to actually teach them something. They have my admiration and respect, just like those who work with the profoundly handicapped. I will freely admit, I might be able to survive a year of doing it but both they and I would be better served with someone else. If you still feel this way in a month or two, I highly suggest you engage in some serious job hunting for next year. Having a job will help you get another one (I know, doesn't seem fair, but it is reality). They know when someone doesn't like them and most of them have had enough of that in their lives already. Good luck, I know there will be times when it is hard, but do what you can to treat them with dignity. You can have firm boundaries without shutting them out completely.
Oh, I can put on a great act...acting like I care & want to work with them, etc. They probably don't care either way whether I want to work with them or not. I try to do fun, interesting activities with them. With a few of them, I told them, "Think of this as a nice break away from your regular class." This is because I pull them out of their other classroom to work with them.
Ha ha! Mama Red is so on about throwing out those, ''How to Teach'' books.
Kids in alternative settings are there, primarily because they don't know to behave. And they like to test new people. See if they can find what will push your buttons, make you react.
Some people can roll with it, others get steamrolled by the kids. It is a fine line, if they respect you, everything is fine. Once they lose respect for you, it is all downhill.
I had a student one year who would blow up into a cursing, yelling temper tantrum any time he was asked to follow a basic rule (spit out your gum, don't lean back in your chair) . The temper tantrum would then get him sent to the office. One day he told me he wasn't going to do anything his teachers told him because he always got in trouble anyway. I pulled him outside for a little chat. I explained to him that when I asked him to do something, he wasn't in trouble. If he would just say "ok" and do as he was asked, that would be the end of it. For the rest of the year, he would take a deep breath and look like he was going to lose it, then he'd stop himself, say "ok", and do as I asked. A few years later, when he would have been a junior or senior, a teacher from another alt ed campus was talking about this really great kid. He said he got a kick out of the kid because any time his behavior was corrected, he'd look like he was going to blow up, but then he'd just say "ok" and do what he was asked. A lot of these kids are so used to being in trouble, you really do have to specifically teach them how to react appropriately. (It's always easier to do this when they're not already in trouble.)
I actually changed my mind...I don't want to get anyone any Christmas gifts. They don't deserve it. These are teenage thugs who don't give a rat's arse about school, listening to the teacher, etc.
You'd be surprised. Even a 50 cent yo-yo or small puzzle will get a big response at Christmas. Most of these kids have been forgotten by everyone who means anything to them and their hard-ass attitude is a defense. As someone else posted, check out Oriental Trading Co's catalogs for inexpensive gifts.
The saddest thing, is to listen to these kids, and I have met their parents, and have been to some of their homes.
You know, after meeting some of these parents, I think..."Wow, that kid is doing pretty good".
I had extreme empathy, for a child I literally could not stand. He was difficult, mean, violent, and all around miserable POS. After I met his Mother...I really felt like this kid never had a chance to be normal.
So...think a bit, about how these kids got to your school, before condemning them too much.
Last edited by jasper12; 09-20-2013 at 07:29 PM..
Reason: Edit
It really doesn't sound like it's the right fit for you.
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