Productively Exhausted

Kids say things that touch our hearts. I have a student who used to throw chairs at his previous school. My coworkers and I  have worked hard at setting the bar high for his behavior this year. So far, knock on wood, he has not even broken a pencil.

Today, seven days into the new year, I had the students stand up one at a time and tell me something that was good about our program this year and something that we could improve on. This young man reluctantly stood up and said that it was good in our school because no one throws chairs. I love it!

He is able to behave like he wished he could have behaved last year. Just when I wonder if I am impacting these valuable students, God reassures me through the words of one of my kiddos. No evaluation will mean more to me than his simple statement.

It is always tough for students with emotional and behavior needs to know when to push them and when to back off. Today, I am secure that pushing them to be regular kids is working. Yes, they need more supports and strategies than other students but they can do so much more than we think.

 Another student told me a few days ago that I keep acting like he is a regular kid and he is not a regular kid. He believed he could not go in the cafeteria with all the regular students. Well, the first day he went in for a few minutes, then went in after eating his lunch the next day. Today was the day he ate his lunch sitting at the table with all the other kids. Success! He now believes he is a regular kid at least as far as eating lunch goes. This is not a baby step for my guy but like taking the first step on the moon.

If I had any doubts about shifting careers at the old age of 55 with so few years left in my career, they are gone. This is the hardest I have worked in years. There is no time for lunch or breaks and my coworkers and I are doing every duty from morning bus to waving them off at the end of the day. But it is a good exhaustion when you see students beginning to believe that they can fit in just like a regular kid.

In Him,
Joyful