I just finished calling a few parents about behavior problems today. I called Sam's house and spoke to his father (all names have been changed to protect the innocent).
Teach: "Hi, Sam's father? This is Sam's teacher."
Dad: "Oh, hello."
T: "I wanted to give you a call about Sam's behavior today in class."
D: "What did he do?"
T: "Well, he was disruptive, disrespectful, talkative, and angry. He wouldn't listen to me or to other teachers after lunch. He refused to get out his books. He didn't turn in any homework today and gave me attitude about it."
D: "SAM! Get your ass up! Shut off the damn Playstation, boy! What did you say he did? Talked back?"
T: "Yes sir."
D: "MOM, your son is in trouble! Get your ass in here! I got this, Mr. He won't be giving you any more worries." Click.
It's hard not to laugh as all hell breaks loose during your call to a problem kid's house. Of course I don't. It's Nagasaki and Hiroshima on Sam's ass over at his house. Or so it would seem. I hope they aren't too hard on him. I don't want the kid to get a beating. That's the common response to a call from the teacher. Not a spanking. A beating. That isn't going to change his behavior. It's very hard to reach a kid like "Sam" who's angry, distant, and has low skills. It's even harder if he associates you with a beat down from Dad. He also has a whole bunch of stuff that's happened to him that would knock a full-grown adult for a loop. I can understand why he's such a problem in my class. I'm sure he's a problem everywhere. That's not the point. How do I reach this kid? That's the point. What to do???? Help me No Child Left Behind!!!!!!!
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2 comments:
It makes me cry to read this post. I am a sap, to be sure, but I can only imagine how horrible it must be for you and Sam. No one wins. I don't have any answers, just sympathy. Keep up your great work. It's not your fault his father doesn't have better parenting skills. I wonder if schools could somehow offer better parenting skills training. Of course, would they come?
How sad it must be to call a parent and listen to them yell at their disruptive offspring. I mean I can understand yelling if the kid did something out right horrible, but it seems to me that the reason he is misbehaving is because of the negative attention or no attention at all that he is getting at home. As a future teacher, this blog helps me put things into perspective like dealing with disruptive students and their disruptive parents.
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