Day 4

Day 4 was very calm. We worked hard and steadfast to get all teachers and paraprofessionals on the same page with students. We did have students coming in at 7:45 and I believe this will be permanent. Today we worked with a 1st grader who I thought was doing quite well and did not understand why he was in special education. He seemed to be learning the information like his peers around him. Much to my surprise, he was held back last year. This made everything very clear. It seems like he is just learning the new material like his peers, when in fact this should be a review. Even so young he has no drive to succeed. I said to him that I will feel bad when he has to watch his friends go to the next grade and he stays in 1st again. He looked at me like I was crazy and I said, "you have to pay attention and learn what we are trying to teach you so you can go with them." He immediately changed his attitude and started listening to what was being said. We worked today on reading accuracy and fluency. Although it's been only a few days I feel like I am starting to find my place in all of this caos.