Today, I had a student lose it. I mean, lose it! When I picked my class up from music, the music teacher told me that one of my students had a rough time, not paying attention and kicking chairs. When I looked at the line, I couldn't see him. He was squatting down at the end of the line. I went to the end of the line and asked him to please stand up. He did, with a scowl on his face. Judging from his demeanor, I decided that it would be a good idea to walk backwards to keep an eye on him in the hallway.
We stopped off, on the way back to our classroom, at the restrooms. This friend went into the restroom, kicked the door open, and then slammed it shut. I calmly asked him to please stop because I didn't want him to get hurt. He came out of the stall, still scowling and washed his hands, then got into the line with his classmates in the hallway.
When everyone was done using the restroom, I asked the class to please come off the wall and stand on the purple roadrunners that line our hallways. The young man refused. I went up to him and said, "I need you to get into the line, please." He refused. I took him by the hand and said, "Let me help you make a good choice." He jerked his hand away from me. I said, "So. It looks to me like you need some help remembering how to walk in the halls. Let's go to the end of the line and you can watch how your friends do it," and I took him by the hand again. He jerked his hand away and plunked his little body down in the middle of the hallway.
At this point, I was wondering how I was going to get the other 18 students upstairs for lunch and deal with a sit-down strike. I was there by myself, as my para was putting out lunch and resting mats. Another student started to tell me a story at which point my friend who was sitting on the floor launched himself at the storyteller, screaming at him to stop, and put his hands around his neck! I quickly removed his hands and stood between the two boys.
This was when another staff member happened to see what was going on and asked if I needed her to call the principal. I told her I needed help getting the class and this dysregulated kiddo upstairs for lunch. Just then another teacher came around the corner and said he could help. We got everyone up to the room and served lunch.
It was time for Rest Time. Same Dysregulated kid. Lying on his mat. Throwing his blanket up in the air, I walked over and asked if he'd like me to cover him up. He said he would. Less than five minutes later, he was throwing his blanket up in the air again. Our para asked him to stop. He threw it in the air again. She told him is he did it again, she would take his blanket. He smiled at her and did it again. She went over and took his blanket.
This is where is got really interesting. He stood up. Clenched his fist and took a swing at her. Luckily, she dodged him, but he kept on swinging. She got ahold of him and took him to a member of the CARE Team.
This child has been a witness to domestic violence for the better part of his young life. That doesn't excuse his behavior, but it does help explain it. My heart goes out to him. However, I cannot and will not tolerate this behavior in my classroom.
