Where's the Focus?

No class today. There's a wedding at the church, and they need the common room for the reception. We will meet again on Tuesday. The announcement email noted that this is why we need to move the dojo to our own space where these types of surprises will not occur.

Thursday's class was very nice. On Friday I had a run-in with one of my students that shocked my student teacher to no end. Yes, I know that they are only fourth grade students, but there is no time like the present to remind them about (Dimensions of Learning) Dimension 5, which states in part, that students must be aware of the consequences of their behavior. They must also actively engage in tasks even when the outcome or purpose of those tasks are not readily apparent.

This student has a habit of pretending to be sick when things are not going his way. I've already had one discussion with Mom about how this kid behaves inappropriately while all the time watching me and smiling. He's looking for attention, and yesterday he got just what he was looking for.

I was teaching math. My student teacher was there, but was observing and documenting behavior for two other students who are practically guaranteed to fall through the cracks if they don't get additional help now. There was also an ELL teacher observing. She notice the student in question sitting in his desk at the back of the room while I was speeding through a quick review. He was in his math journal drawing in pen all over the page we were working on. She went to him and asked him what he was doing, and should he be doing that. He said, 'it didn't matter because 'we' never turn those pages in.'

My student teacher told be all about this after the math lesson finished. Knowing what I know about this student, I went to his desk, asked him to open up his book to the page he destroyed and explain what the destruction was all about.

I continued questioning him about his actions and the consequences of those actions for about two minutes. When I was done, he was shaken to the core. My student teacher said she'd never seen me like that, and had no idea where all that had come from. She notice I had never raised my voice above a whisper, but could tell that I was not a person to be messed with. Period.

"It all comes from my Aikido, and from Budo. This is the side of me you see at the dojo."

"Whoa," was all she could say.