Jaydon

From Yuka throwing up during worship this morning, to Lex gluing papers on the wall this afternoon, today continued the theme of the week: post-honeymoon. Yes, the good, old days are over, and we’re down to business. For the students, that means testing my boundaries; for me, it means keeping my boundaries. Yesterday we had four kids in time-out at various times, and today a girl walked at recess. Another boy will be walking next recess. We’ve lost several minutes of recess as a class, which means we have to sit quietly for however many marks have been erased—so far the highest number is three. I’ve gotten to deal with outright defiance and rebellion, screaming, crying, throwing books and trash on the floor, throwing crayons at each other, and just the usual incessant chattering while I am trying to teach. At the end of the day, I can’t help but feel somewhat defeated. I can’t help but ask, is it me? Am I just not cut out for this? Are they going to have to put up with a “bad” teacher for the rest of the semester? Am I going to have to put up with “bad” students for the rest of the semester? Yes, it is easy to think on these things and feel a bit exhausted. And disappointed. I was kind of hoping they could actually learn something this semester…
But it seems like God sends at least one thing a day to encourage me. Today the encouragement came in the form of Jaydon. Jaydon was in 3rd grade until December, when he switched to our class. He has a sweet smile and lots of energy, and just got all his hair shaved off this week. He loves soccer, and a few days ago in P.E., we were on the same team. It was basically about four of us against the rest of the class, and we would have won if the other team hadn’t made their goal the size of a banana.
Jaydon was having a hard day today (as were a few others I could mention). It was reading time, and I split them into pairs to read the story together in their English books. Sounds simple, but amazingly difficult today. Jaydon did not want to work with his partner. He started his shut-down routine: furrowed brow, closed eyes, shaking head. I told them I would help them start reading together.
“I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know!” Jaydon said in typical fashion.
“You can do it, Jaydon, I know you can.”
“No, I can’t. My dad says I’m crazy.”
“You are not crazy, Jaydon. I’ve seen you do it. You are smart. You catch on quick.”
Eventually they were able to read the whole chapter together, and did a marvelous job as I came around to check on them. Ah, sweet victory.
But the testing wasn’t quite over. Something happened during English or Math to make Jaydon shut down again, and he would not participate—even though I told him he would miss out on the points if he chose that. He got more frustrated, and started pulling all his books and trash out and chucking them on the floor around his desk. I didn’t have time to deal with it, but after holding the class back from lunch for two or three minutes, I told him he could go as soon as he cleaned up around his desk. I was expecting another struggle. Instead, he quietly picked up all his books, and put his trash in the trash can. Then he took the broom and began sweeping. He swept the entire room, even though I had not asked him. I stayed with him and swept up his piles with the small broom and dust pan, and we worked quietly, although I praised him several times for his good work. I also moved his leaf back a level from where it had been.
The rest of the day, Jaydon was on my team. Ah, sweet victory! For now…