S.G.L.

If I have to name a post for a student, she must be on my mind big time.
There was a lot going on today with S.G.L.
Her parents finally agreed to have her evaluated. This is a major step in what we're trying to do here.
We looked into the friendship between her and M.R. and we agreed that we should stay out of it for a while and see what happens.
My co and I made up the monthly honor roll today and we were debating whether or not to put S.G.L. on it. She wasn't misbehaving, but she wasn't doing anything else either.
Every time a teacher looks at her, she turns her face to the side. When she catches herself smiling, she makes sure to stop. This is a desperate plea for attention, so desperate, it's bordering on insanity.
The other teachers and principals agree.
We know that the family has a lot of problems that could be feeding this. We officially labeled her an "At Risk Teen." It sounds a little extreme, but it's true.
I knew that she was dying to get in the honor roll. The honor roll is a huge deal in this school. If a student gets on the list 5 times over the course of the school year, she gets a silver medal at the end of the year.
S.G.L. is dying to get a medal.
I called her over and spoke to her. (Her face was sideways, of course.) I told her that if she would make sure to raise her hand at least once a day in my class, I would out her on the honor roll. She didn't have to get the answers right. She just had to participate. She smiled and even looked at me for a second. She is thrilled with the idea.
I made sure to give B.E.D. that extra attention today. She thrived on it. I'm so happy for her.
I found out that 12th grade is cancelled for tomorrow on account of their play, so I'm extra thrilled today.
I got my Chanukah money from the students. $180 bucks. I'm so not impressed. That's less than 5 dollars a kid. I guess they're not big on showing appreciation to the teachers around here. My husband thinks my job is a joke. Now I'm starting to see what he means.
I got out of school and ran home. I had a ton of things to do and I tried to do everything really quickly. I marked history quizzes, answered index cards, and did a million other little things, because I had somewhere to be.
My nephew got engaged (to a girl I know!!), and I had to run to his Vort.
He has no idea how he saved me. The principal stopped me on the way out of school yesterday to ask if she could meet with me today. I used my nephew's engagement as an excuse.
She didn't believe me at first because my niece had just gotten engaged two weeks ago. But I managed to convince her, and got the meeting pushed off.
I love my nephew.