Deep Thinking

Did I mention that I have him in my school? Bob Wolfgang is his name and the fact that he intends to retire this year just makes me want to tear up all those calendars counting down the end of school! I wish you could experience a year with a principal who is supportive of reading and libraries, who understands the higher purpose of education and who sees the children beyond their behaviors.

Today one of the Kdg boys “J” decided he wasn’t receiving enough attention and threw over his heavy wooden chair while he was sitting at the computer then stood with his arms folded defiantly. I calmly moved the chair away from everyone and went back to teaching all the others spread out around the room. Since the class of 20 was divided into two, I pointed his behavior out to his teacher who said to “call the office” for the principal. Now “J” has had a really rough year. He has a twin (we have 3 sets of twins in kdg this year) and had been with his twin in one classroom with a brand-new-to-kdg teacher. They were split apart and both moved into separate classrooms with different teachers to try to bring behavior under control. New teacher hasn’t established a relationship with “J” yet and he is enjoying a little notoriety. So, what did principal do when he came down?

He removed child from others’ view, discussed proper behavior, then led him back to the computer to complete the project WITH him. They spent some time together learning, laughing, and exploring the program and “J” was able to get back on track and continue working until he was finished. Principal left room. “J” continued rotating centers then came back to me before the class left and said in an angelic voice, “I would like to use the computer to create another project.” Very calmly I reminded him that only people who were in control of themselves could use the computer. He sweetly smiled and said, “I’ll be very good.” Then he proceeded to whip through all the tasks so he could have a second printout to show off. He was so proud of himself.

I was so pleased with the principal’s response because I wanted the child to stay and learn yet needed the extra set of hands for redirection. I believe little experiences of success like this make the difference in a child’s future. These moments of nonthreatening intervention and redirection set the stage for all learning. Sometimes children don’t need to be taken away and isolated, but need to be taught how to interact properly. Sometimes it’s the adults who need the instruction.

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Response from my principal:
I greatly appreciate the comments in your blog site. If that is great, I feel at times that great is a very low standard. That type of response to children is what we should, and I hope that I am about everyday.

I do have to remind some that I am not trying to set records for most kids sent home. It is much more important that we get them re-engaged in learning as quickly as possible. They learn nothing at home and nothing that they need to know hanging out in the office. I have always tried to focus on getting children over the temporary trauma and back to the main task.