Saturday, January 9, 2010

Getting Found

“The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself
in the service of others."
~ Ghandi

I am not too fond of whining. My mother claims I was whined as a child…..sorry, Mom-I feel you.
My mother gave me things to do. She kept me busy….I, in turn, keep a busy classroom.
It has been my experience that kids that whine either want attention from adults or may feel ill at ease with their own peers. Whatever the case, I work very hard on bonding and engaging them to focus and feel comfortable within the classroom. Usually, by making them a ‘helper’ within the classroom setting-they begin to feel empowered and build confidence while I work more closely with them. It’s amazing to see that as the school year progresses, so do they.
I have found that kids that were my ‘helpers’ in the beginning are more apt to take initiative helping others that seem a bit ‘lost’ within the classroom….it’s a beautiful situation.

3 comments:

Dan Gurney said...

I've found, often, that the best way to bring a difficult kid around is to ask them to help you. They almost always say yes, and things get better. Who knew that the difficult kid was just wanting to be of greater service to you?

Barbra The Bloggess said...

True! And kids just asking for the attention you will be giving them. (The classic Two-Bird-One-Stone-Scenario)

Anonymous said...

Hello,

Making them a helper seems like an excellent idea. This turns a negative, "whining" into something positive. Have a great week.