It depends on the size of the Octopus...

I love my kids... I really do... today in one of my classes, my smallest class, 2 kids, and today they had me laughing so hard I was crying.  I am not even sure how it came about really... and retelling it here wouldn't even begin to explain it.  The two kids are both familiar to me.  One of them, a boy, is a pretty serious kid, very task oriented.  He does not like to leave things undone.  He is determined to learn and I love that about him.  We are working on mean, median, mode, and range...  which is irrelevant here... the two students are funny together.  They compete against each other and it works well because they have different areas of strengths and weaknesses, so they push each other.  I have a meeting tomorrow and may miss part of their class so I told them the plan for tomorrow which included perhaps having them play some games against each other to work on their skills... and this kid, who is usually pretty stoic said something about the other student not cheating ... and the other student said he had cheated... and he giggled... this serious kid, who is, I swear an old man in a kid's body, was giggling... and then when I asked for homework he didn't have his... I was shocked!  Ok.. shocked is a bit strong... but  I was surprised.  He said he had left it at home.  I asked him if he had left it at home, why did he have a piece of paper in front of him with a few of the problems done and asked him if he had just forgotten to do it. His face changed and his eyes widened and he stammered that it was done.  I told him it was okay that we all forget once in a while... and that he could be more creative with his excuses... (remember I know these kids well and they know me well and they know when I am kidding with them...)  I asked him if his octopus had eaten his homework. He assured me he did not have an octopus... and we began going through the problems together and he was all giggly... again making me laugh... I asked him how big the octopus was and he told me, misunderstanding the question, very matter of factly, that Octopus come in different sizes... and again told me he does not have one... (I love middle school kids who even if they know you well believe all that you say...like when I told kids I was a champion lawn tractor racer... )  I told him I told him he did have one and that I had a creature at home too, a unicorn... and he said, instead of saying there were no unicorns, said, sure you do, where would you keep a unicorn?  I told him in the same place all people who have unicorns keep their unicorns... in the unicorn shed... and that got him giggling again... back to the homework... we were working on a problem and I asked him if he remembered doing that problem last night.  He said he hadn't remembered it... and I said.. do you really think an octopus could eat homework?  and in his very serious way, sounding very scientific said, It depends on the size of the octopus.  That for some reason made me start laughing, then he started laughing as he asked me why I was laughing and the other student was craking up... and before we knew it we were all crying from laughing so hard... eventually we got through the work and he kept saying that it was the best math class ever... Oh man... just fun...

Then there is my self proclaimed Aspie.  (She calles herself that as a person with Asperger's...)  we have been working hard on her organization issues... I have created daily schedules for her that include pictures of what she needs to do each day to include what she needs to put in her bag each morning, when to return to her locker and what to put back in her locker and then pack for the rest of her day. (Most of the kids in our school do not carry bags around, but she needs to, otherwise she is late to classes because she carries so much with her that she drops things and gets very flustered.   Many kids with Aspergers respond well to pictures.  It is tricky with middle school kids because those pictures cannot be too childish, but I have found, must also insert some humor.  Before making the daily schedules I asked her if she thought in pictures and she said she does.  I told her I was going to say something and wanted her to tell me immediately what she pictured.  I said Science, she said BOOM, I said Math, she said Pencil, explaining that math was the only class that required a pencil, I said Language Arts, she said Harry Potter, I said Social studies and she said globe... so those are the images I used to show her classes, minimal words accompanying many pictures.  It has not yet become as fluid as I would like it to be... but she and I are learning about one another... She wants to be independent, but has finally recognized with me that her disorganization causes her a lot of stress.    So since beginning this new bag/visual schedule system... she has been borrowing one of my cloth grocery bags... not stylish, I know, but wanted to see how things worked.She was reluctant to the bag idea at first, not wanting to be different, but yesterday, yahoo by the way, told me the bag system is helpful.  She likes purple.  So I recently went to a store that has a style that I thought she would appreciate and bought a purple over the shoulder bag.  Today I showed it to her and she was pleased.  I told her where I had bought it and her eyes lit up.. she was wearing a shirt from that very store.  Bingo! I told her that the bag could be hers to use if she can be more independent.  (I have had to find her every morning to get her into the routine to get ready for the day, have met her mid day to get ready for the afternoon, and at the end of the day to make sure she has her work packed for the day.)  I asked her if she liked having me in her space that much, knowing she likes to be independent and would prefer I leaver her to her own devices... she told me that she did not want to respond because she was afraid that her answer would be less than tactful and she did not want to land in the office... I told her that I appreciate her ability to self-edit and gave her permission to say what was on her mind, but challenged her to do so as tactfully as possinle.  She told me, after prefacing it with an apology, that she did not need another... pardon her, she said, mother.  At this point I was thrilled!  Yes! She really is much like a typical girl her age.  She wants independence.  So we came up with a deal.  I promised to leaver her alone today and we would chat mid day, when she came to my room, about how things were going, and if things were going well, that she could have some time to read while in my room.  (This girl is a bookworm and her school day is so packed she has no down time to do such luxurious activities!)  The look on her face was priceless... and today, mid day, she showed up in my room, the most calm and most confident I have seen her yet... and... and this is big... smiling.  Instead of waiting for me to approach her like our usual dance... she approached me, holding her bag out in front of her, telling me she had done great that morning and that her bag had all of her afternoon materials ready to go.  And... she was right! So... per our deal... I let her read....for a while... then needed to plant my next seed... decreasing the number of binders she carries with her throughout the day.  I encourage most kids to have a binder for each class... but for the teachers she works with, she could really get by with three binders instead of 5... how did I plant this seed? with something simple... that I had a hunch she would like... a purple accordion folder... and again, that look of excitement and wide eyes, followed by some uncomfortable laughter I had yet to see from her.  I could not tell if she was excited or offended... and I asked her to clarify her reaction.... it was excitement.  She said she loved those kind of folders, but that her Mom had insisted that she didn't need one because her trapper keeper that she has had for three years was still in good shape.  So... another carrot... This girl is bright... sooo smart... in the 99th percentile for most of her academic skills... yet struggles with meeting deadlines.. because of her disorganization and need to pass things in that are perfect...which takes time... and she is stressed all the time, also because of her disorganization... today I saw two things I have not yet seen from her... calmness and confidence... I love this kid!

There is one kid... who I have yet to figure out... my conundrum... he is falling apart at home from the stress of school... his mom has asked that I don't tell him I know this... but wants me to see if he will talk to me... he is a tough nut to crack... but... I will get there...

On a related note... teachers are dedicated to their profession... to the kids really... and that work is often not recognized and too often unappreciated.  In the last week I had two moments that brought tears to my eyes.... I got two emails... from parents of kids I had last year... who are now at the high school.  Both kids struggled badly with transitions and anxiety... Both families of these boys were filled with anxiety about these kids going to high school and surviving... The emails were to thank me, for the work I had done to help prepare their kids for high school, both saying that not only were the kids surviving, but thriving... one even about to attend the big homecoming dance with a girl.  One parent copied the principal and superintendent on the email, wanting, she said, for the district to know how lucky they are to have amazing teachers in our school... It means soooo much to get an email like that... not because the supt. gets to hear that I am helping kids... but... because I am helping kids... what I do works... and makes  difference... and I like that...I cannot take credit for the success of these kids because that credit needs to go to the kids... but I do know that somewhere, somehow...they were able to grow, change, and mature while they were working with me.... partly because I think I do create a place where kids feel safe...safe to be themselves.... and to hear from a parent that a kid who I had the pleasure of knowing, is doing well... brings joy to me in a way I cannot articulate. 

If you have kids... and your kids have had a teacher that somehow made a difference in your child's life... take a minute and say thanks... I am sure the emails took seconds to write and send... but... it really is such a compliment... it's better than a "I heart teacher" mug...