Society and Other Problems...

I spent the entire night thinking of L.K. and the problem she had understanding my lesson on society. Ok, not the whole night, but I did give her a good 10 minutes of my thoughts. (Or was it 2 minutes?)
It bothered me that a girl so bright could get so stuck on such a small issue, but what bothered me even more was the way the class reacted to her.
The girls have no respect when it comes to each other, I saw it in class with L.K., and I saw it other times, when they were doing quiet work in their seats. The girls were constantly breathing down each other's necks, always trying to push each other out of their way to the front of the line (or for my attention). The weaker girls don't even bother to stand up for themselves anymore, because there was nothing to do anyway. When I saw it with L.K. I was surprised, I thought she was a stronger character in the class, but I guess I was wrong.
I know this goes on in every single classroom in the world, there are social classes within a classroom that just can't be changed. I may sound crazy, but if it takes all year of banging my head against the wall, I am going to try and change that.
I've told my classes more than once, each student was created differently. They each have different backgrounds, different likes and dislikes, and different strengths and weaknesses. My students know that I treat them all like individuals, I don't expect them to all be the same, and I don't expect a girl who drags "D's" all year to suddenly become an "A" student. They know that I look at their individuality and the amount of effort they put in as opposed to just considering the marks they get.
So I went to school early today as well, I wanted to talk to L.K.
I called her over after lunch, and personally explained society to her in a way she'd understand. It took me all night to come up with the explanation I gave her, but it worked. And the smile that her face broke into, was worth every bit of hard work I put into teaching.
I taught essays today. They were always intimidating to me in school, so I prepared a fun, interactive lesson on them. We went through the basic essay format, and then, just as we were about done, I blew a white-out scenario out of proportion.
E.T. was using white out, and I took it away. I had never told the girls they couldn't use white-out, so E.T. was really shocked and upset. The entire class had white-outs on their desks, but I took hers. Her eyes were filling up as I spoke angrily to the class about why I hated when they used white-out. The class was just staring at me like I suddenly turned into this scary monster, when I smiled, gave back E.T's white-out, and gave the class a topic sentence on the subject.
I went up and down the rows, and the girls wrote a beautiful essay on the student's views and the teacher's views on the use of white-out. Each girl contributed one sentence and as each girl gave her sentence, the rest of the class wrote it down. When the bell rang, each girl had a beautiful essay to use as a reference for their homework essay on school uniforms.
There was one problem during the class. B.E.D. I called on her for her sentence and she just refused to open her mouth. She just sat and stared at me. She was making it quite clear that I wasn't going to be able to make her take part in my class. I told her firmly that she was going to come over to me after class. Of course she never came, and being the teacher, I don't go running after students. But something has to be done about her. I know that there is a sick child in the house, and that the family also had a teenage boy who passed away a couple of years ago. I also heard that the family is not dealing with the situation well, and that the other kids are being pushed to side. I heard that the parents don't let the kids speak about what is going on at home to anyone, and that they also don't speak to the kids to tell them what's going on. They think their daughter is quite clueless, but I can assure you, having been sick myself, the siblings know much more than you'd believe.
The problem arises when the kids know what's going on, but they're afraid to talk to their parents because the adults are hiding from them. The kids are left feeling confused and more than just a little scared. I can't tell people how to run their lives, but this definitely can't work.
B.E.D. had to be dealt with, but how? I wasn't able to bring up her family situation because officially it was a secret. A few years ago, when her older brother died, the school had her evaluated and she really needed some major therapy. But when the school called the parents down, the parents refused to do anything about it, and it became a huge deal that the school just doesn't want to revisit. So really, it's up to me. I just need an opening.
B.E.D. is weighing down my mind, I have to figure something out.
R.R, my LD kid. She is a character. They were handing in their letter to selves today, (at least those girls who were responsible enough to finish on time) and R.R. came over to tell me that she had thrown out her letter because she hated it, and she had nothing what to write.
I told her it was unacceptable, that she had to hand something in if she wanted me to continue giving her all that extra help. So she started with her story of "I hate myself, so I have nothing nice to say in a letter."
I can't stand this begging for attention scenario, but I gave her the attention she wanted. I still demanded the letter, but I told her that it wasn't possible to have nothing good to say. As her teacher for only 3 weeks, I already saw so many good qualities in her. R.R. claimed that she didn't know what I was talking about.
I winked at her and said, "If you can't see all the things I see in you, then maybe we'll have to make an appointment for Sunday after school to discuss what a great girl you are."
R.R. blushed, laughed, and walked away, but I think I'll still get that letter.