A lesson I have learned...

I love my job. I have gotten to know all my students and they have gotten to know me. Their parents trust and respect me. And my bosses are cool.. and really nice. At this school the teachers are in charge of the classroom and the material we teach. I can decide to not teach anything the administration has asked of me. I can cancel a whole day of class to have a party for the kids. It is great to do things your way. At the same time, I have supervisers that will prepare my lesson plans if I feel I am too busy or just not wanting to do it.
The school is really there for the benefit of the students. They are really willing to go out of their way to provide an excellent service for the kids. I love that so much!!

I have this student that was a real trouble maker. He was very defiant and he would not listen to me ever. I started to not like having him in class. I guess I started to try to control him and force him to do what Iwant... It just made things worse. Then his birthday came along, and I had the class sing Happy Birthday to him 2 times that day. He was in charge of everything, he led the lines, he erased the white board. He decided if I would keep kids for detention. He was the star of the class. He felt special.... and since then he has been an excellent student. He is the first one to help get all the desks straight, to get all the papers of the floor, to be quiet when I need to talk. He now listens to what I tell him to do... even if he does not agree or understand! He is a perfect student... and joy to have in class. So, with this I learned... when you are dealing with someone difficult make that person feel special. Maybe they just need their time to shine. You will not lose anything.. and I know I have gained this great felling of making a kid really happy!! :o)
Try it and tell me how it goes.