Wednesday, November 15, 2006

   Reflection.
Today was the last day of Tutoring. Looking back, I feel like my student and I have come a long way in a short time. I'll remind you that this is the same student that I considered dropping over a month ago. (Refer to blog: Oct.11)

The tutoring program was very casual, and it was unusual for a student to be uncooperative. When I met him, I knew he was something else. I soon found out he had a history of being disruptive. My time with him was extremely inefficient because of behavioral issues. Things were OK at first. Then bad. Then worse.

I seriously considered dropping this kid. Then I found out that because of his behavioral issues, he had to be removed from his classroom, and placed in another. Someone commented to me that this wasn't the first time. So what happened? Guilt. I couldn't do it to him. I didn't want to be another person in this educational system for him to walk away from. Literally. This kid walked away from me so many times for the randomest reasons. Besides the guilt, I was a bit stubborn. I thought to myself, "No, I'm not going to let one kid get to me already."

Luckily during all this transition in his life, we got paired up with a sweet girl and her partner who were not his mortal enemies like the ones before. I was relieved to have some support from the other tutor who also empathized with me and admitted that being around him caused her anxiety. So I knew it just wasn't me. I set out a plan for his sake and mine. I changed the way I spoke to him; my language became very clear and direct. I created checklists so he'll always know what to expect. Not only that, but I wanted him to, and he needed to see something tangible and "official." He was responsible for marking off the checklist so we could move onto the next activity. I wanted him to have a sense of importance in our routine. I also arranged it so that we would be away from everyone else so he wouldn't compare his experience to others.

During this time he was adjusting to his classroom. He had "up" and "down" days, but his behavior improved ALOT. Some days I would not see him, usually because he was in the principal's office. Yet, he didn't act out his temper because of bad days. One time he got mad at me because he didn't get to go to the Halloween party. He was in the principal's office and I couldn't retrieve him that day. He was such a brat when he saw me again that my professor had to pull him aside and talk to him. Later when he returned, I spoke to him. It was strange because just having a conversation about that put him in a good mood again.

On Monday he was in an extra good mood and presented me a picture he drew hearts and stars. I was in so much shock. Today was our last day together. I brought him a book I made with his pictures and the words he spoke that I recorded throughout the semester. I also gave him a container of jokes and took him to my class to get cake and goodies. Except for one moment, he was so cooperative, it was weird. He even asked me permission before he went to get water. Seriously, he used to run off somewhere and not tell me at all! I guess he knew today was the last, and we had better make the best of it.

In a way I'm a little sad that it's ended when things were looking up.

But God knows I'm also relieved!

=P

Comments (4)