Felons Love Macbeth??

You know that saying "when you expect it, they will bring it" (or something like that, it is Friday, so please bear  with me) well, my guys, ages 18-65, felons, some in there for 40+ life for all types of crimes, came into my English class on Monday not understanding what they were getting into and opening Macbeth. 

See, I had had most of them in the semester before and over time, they grew to trust me. They knew that I wasn't going to let them flail about and drown so they took a chance and requested my class again. (BTW: this doesn't happen very often) I front loaded a ton of info about the life of Shakespeare, the language, the feeling of the society, the background of King James I of Scotland and his love of witches- basically if I thought they would benefit from it, I was going to give them the information. 

But today, as I was looking around the room, hearing them analyze Act I, Scene 7, and snicker at Lady Macbeth's over manipulation and her way of stripping away Macbeth's masculinity, I knew that I had done my job, not only as an educator, but as a person that they can still count on to explain, show, answer, create analogies- they wouldn't drown even when it got a little harder and even when it was something they would never consider doing on the outside. It was an awesome feeling...

College: What does it look like for the ADHD student?

This map of the top colleges and universities in the United States is the typical expectation of post-secondary education for most American students. But what happens when a student has learning or executive functioning disabilities that prevents them from attending these top colleges? Where can they go and receive support, tutoring, counseling, or classes about living skills? What happens when they are ready to move out, but not ready to be out in the world?

I am just starting out on this college counseling journey, wading through opportunities, and looking at different ideas and support for potential college students. Then, I started to look carefully at my own students who come into my school with a significant disadvantage before they even begin to LOOK at what college means. Due to their ADHD or learning disabilities, social or emotional disabilities, or even psychological issues, parents just want their children to graduate high school and college isn't even on the radar.

But something happens at our school....when there are smaller classrooms, teachers who understand their struggles and seek to work with their deficiencies instead of becoming annoyed, and a chance for them to succeed and then, they actually start to feel successful. All of a sudden, their grades go up, they begin to make their way out of the fog of "Can't" and into a situation where college - and dare I say - a FOUR year college instead of just a community college -  is actually within reach. 

However, the parents are still stuck in survival mode, where they are the motivator, the demander, the threat. When I approach them about potential college plans, they always say, "Oh no no no - I don't think s/he is quite ready for such a challenge and I would prefer s/he just stay at home and complete a couple classes toward an AA degree." I get it- I honestly do! I realize what it is like to parent a kid, deal with the daily issues, defiance, lack of motivation, even struggles with addictions or partying. 

I don't know their history with the student who I see try every day in my classroom. I am not at home with them during the knock down drag out fights but I can see amazing growth in just a few months. I see them start to participate, feel good about an "A" grade, and see them unfold themselves into mutually beneficial and positive relationships with their peers. I see their eyes light up when I talk to them about potential college plans and go through their "Getting Ready For College Worksheets." 

I am trying to increase their self-concept about what they are capable of and that doesn't mean putting out of reach college or universities that are popular but are not a great fit for them. This means doing the research to find programs that will support their writing assignments, social programs that help kids who need a push to increase their social skills, a psychiatric program that is available for students who need additional psychiatric care. 

That is my job and it isn't just about helping my students get into the top universities, it is about helping them get into and attend the RIGHT university. I hope that when my 7 year old and 2 year get old enough for a college counselor, that they will not be drawn by the glittery lights of the Big Universities but will find something that speaks to them and says, "You will fit in here, this is the place to start your adulthood." 

I hope that your kids or students do as well...

What do you do with bragging students?

I have a fault as a person and as a teacher. I HATE students who constantly, incessantly brag about what they have done or been, what they can do, or how much they know. Logically, I realize that most of the time students who brag like this are self-concious about themselves and brag as a way to increase their feeling of self-worth. But, MAN!! They drive me crazy. I almost always have this need to call them out on it and one-up them. It is such an immature desire and one that I suppress all the time.

However, when someone comes along who tries to one-up a student after they have shared something time and again, sometimes I can't help myself.

Case in point: I have a summer school student who I haven't had before in any of my classes. She is only in 10th grade but taking an 11th grade prep class for college. I get that she is trying to get ahead and she really is remarkable in her different abilities, but she likes to brag to become the center of attention. After six weeks of this, I have had enough when she tries to say that she has eaten monkey brains and insects (she claims she can eat all of them, except for ants...). I ask her when and where she ate monkey brains and she says she ate them in China. OK.....I ask how old she was and she states that she was pretty young but she remembers the flavor and texture. This would have been about 10 years ago and I am by no means an expert in the availability of monkey brains, but this just sounds ludicrous!

hat familiar desire to call her out surfaces and I fight myself, trying to suppress this need to let her know how ridiculous she sounds. I refuse to let it get to me, because honestly, what am I going to do, call her a liar IN CLASS with the other students around me? Absolutely not! But I can't help just taking it to the next level. So I ask her what region of China she was in when she ate monkey brains? She stammered a bit and I started to feel sorry for her and let it go.

Seriously though, how would you handle this? I know that I did this a little bit here and there growing up and while most of my stories are so ridiculous they have to be true, I wonder if people felt this way about me. I traveled throughout my childhood and have eaten some weird and exotic things, met some unusual people (Egyptian donkey trader wanting to trade my father 25 donkeys for me as a wife when I was 15 and the Masaaii warrior wanting to make me his 4th Junior wife when I was 12 are vividly remembered!) and experienced some truly amazing things. But when does it become too much and cross over the line into bragging territory? How can I let students like this know that it rubs people the wrong way and causes them to question their validity? I don't want to hurt their feelings or embarrass them- I really truly don't! However, when you KNOW something a student says is completely wrong, do you correct them?

I don't know, I am at a loss and wondering how everyone else handles this!