Seven Days and Counting
May 28, 2008
Dear Student,
Can I have a word with you? I mean, when you are not screaming at me, or the teacher, or your fellow classmates. I’ll wait. Really. I have PLENTY of time to spare for you. That’s because my current job has shifted, almost imperceptibly, from working with a child who can’t speak to one who screams, throws chairs, hits, sticks his tongue out at EVERYTHING and EVERYONE, and climbs walls and destroys school property. Did I mention that I spend more time each day chasing after you for your safety than working with the child that requires it in his IEP?
Did I mention I don’t like to run? And, did you see the high-heeled shoes I was wearing? Betcha didn’t think I could run that fast in them, did you? Must have been a rather unpleasant surprise for you.
Believe me, I understand. I really do. This schoolwork thing is HARD. I know. I was a student once, and Hey! Guess what? I will be again in the fall, so I GET IT. Seriously. But sweetheart, if you don’t do the work, you don’t get the grades, and then…you don’t pass. You stay behind.
We both know you are WAY too smart for that. Even with all the behavioral issues, you are wicked smart. So it is because of that I have to work with you, each day, so you can learn and grow and become the grown-up you can be; you need to be. Because that is how it should be.
So with that in mind, we have seven days left together until the summer begins. I’m asking (short of begging) that for these last few days we have left that you don’t run out of the classroom just because you don’t like something. I’m also asking the screaming, the yelling, the attitude take a seven day break. I’m tired of the chain reaction you create, and it breaks my heart to see you like this. You cancel out all the good work you do each day with all the chaos you create. I know we’ve had this conversation, and I’m hoping that if I have this word with you, here, between us, that you will finally hear what I have to say and try to make better choices.
Please.
Love,
Your Beleaguered (and Exhausted) Teacher Assistant
