Wednesday, May 20, 2015

King Charles


Charles' seat was at the back of the room. He had no neighbors to either side. In front of him was an aisle.

I call is the iso-seat. The kid that sits in the iso-seat is the kid that's been isolated from the rest of the group. Generally with very good reason.

Charles could not sit still. On the one hand, I feel sorry for him. He probably has issues. But on the other... The boy was breaking out dance moves--in his seat--for no reason whatsoever. And he wasn't doing the assignment. At all.

(I was in this 8th grade U.S. history class all week. They had an 11 page packet to complete. Charles wasn't making much headway.)

He whined about doing the work. He got out of his seat for the most spurious of reasons. And when I'd go to stand next to him, he got really uncomfortable. (This worked well for me. I could leverage him into writing something on his paper by promising him I'd leave as soon as he did.)

Then on Thursday a miracle occurred. I didn't notice right away. Sometime in the passing period, I noticed Charles. Or rather, I noticed the absence of Charles. I held my breath...

The bell rang.

Charles was absent! Hooray!

According to the online attendance, he had an "illness". Not that I wished him sick, but it was amazing to not have to chase after him for a day.

Unfortunately, he returned Friday. Sigh.

As for the title of this post, it comes from Charles' backpack. He had King Charles written on it. Um, okay...

23 comments:

  1. I love the nickname King Charles! And I can just imagine how happy teachers on when a child stays home sick (especially a child like this)!

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    1. Oh, so true. I found out the next day he wasn't absent the whole day. He went home sick during 1st period.

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  2. Sounds like the kid had ants in his pants!

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  3. Well...at least he doesn't lack for confidence.

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  4. Adding "king" is the only good nickname for some names. I just wonder if anyone else calls him that.

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  5. Sounds like a bit of a headache for you. I kind of feel sorry for him as well though, I wonder what will happen when he leaves school and doesn't have people to watch over him like that.

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    1. I'm kinda hoping that he matures out of it. It's possible.

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  6. I wonder if he knows what happened to King Charles I. If he misbehaves much more you might have to point it out to him!

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  7. It's amazing how the absence of just one child can change the chemistry of the class and the outlook for the day. I have two in my class like this. I feel sorry for them because they just can not sit still. It drives me bonkers though.

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    1. I know. There are days when I get warnings about various students, and then they turn out to be absent. Those classes aren't as bad as warned.

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  8. Sometimes teachers and subs need a break from those trouble-making kids.

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  9. A one day reprieve was probably good. You are right, got to feel sorry for Charles, makes you wonder if just a touch of medicine might settle him down a bit.

    betty

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    1. It might. But then again, he just might choose to behave that way.

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  10. I'm sure it's a pain keeping "King" Charles in line. Clearly he has some issues and should probably see a doctor or mental health professional.

    Sunni
    http://sunni-survivinglife.blogspot.com/

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    1. Perhaps. I have no idea what sort of interventions are already in place for him.

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  11. Do you find that if a kid like Charles finds an interest, something he can get passionate about, it might change his whole outlook?

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  12. Too bad he wasn't sick for the whole week. Again I wonder if he has ADD or something like that

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  13. He either has had a total lack of authority in his life or he has real issues that need to be addressed. Yet, a sub can't change the world. Just one of the many reasons I laughed in someone's face when they once suggested I sign up for substitute teaching.

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  14. Extra-challenging for you to get into a situation like that, wiithout much background or rapport with the kid. Good idea on keeping him focused.

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