I saw his name on the seating chart. Nah. Has it really been two years...?
I was covering a chemistry class, which means sophomores and juniors. But Oscar was just in the 8th grade, wasn't he?
Apparently not. I checked the class roster. He's in the 10th grade now.
Oscar... I vividly recall his 6th period math class from 8th grade. He was one of the challenging ones. He wouldn't sit still. He wouldn't do his work. He was a perpetual motion machine. I remember bellowing his name repeatedly to little effect.
(I went looking in my archives to see if I had written about him before. I hadn't.)
I was dreading seeing him again.
He arrived along with 1st period, and...
He sat in his assigned seat with no prompting. He did his work. If his name hadn't jarred unpleasant memories, I probably wouldn't have noticed him.
The assignment was of the due-at-the-end-of-the-period variety. Guess who came in at lunch to finish it?
When I say that some of them grow out of the crazy, I mean it. Case in point. Oscar grew up and mellowed.
Wow...sounds like he surprised you there! That is great that he finally decided to buckle down and make it through school.
ReplyDeleteAnd clearly he did that before this year, or he wouldn't be taking chemistry now.
DeleteHi Liz - looks like he might be rather bright and wasn't challenged enough ... good news all round - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteNice surprise, glad it was a good experience
ReplyDeleteIt was. Chemistry classes tend to be easy days.
DeleteYay! He grew out of it! That's always a nice surprise/experience!
ReplyDeleteA success story!! Wouldn't you have liked to have known what caused the change in him??
ReplyDeletebetty
Good for him! There is hope for the next generation.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, age is all you need. Lord knows I'd beat the shit out of myself if I ever met kid-version. I was a monster.
ReplyDeleteOh yea. Some of them do just mature.
DeleteThat is good...either he did mellow on his own or maybe he is now on proper medication and you see the real boy. I can't help but think ADHD since many can cause such a bad ruckus
ReplyDeleteADHD would not surprise me, actually. Definitely those kinds of issues two years ago.
DeleteGood for Oscar. A nice surprise!
ReplyDeleteWell then I'm glad you got to witness it - it must be hard with your constant moving around, but it's nice to have proof that it does happen.
ReplyDeleteI think I see it more, actually. Because I do move around a lot, I end up seeing the same students over years, and I get to kind of track their progress.
DeleteThis is the kind of story some adults need reminding of. See? They do grow up.
ReplyDeleteI literally raised my arms at this victory. Good work, y'all. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteHe did the work. I just got to witness it.
DeleteYou and your colleagues helped form his renewed attitude, I'm sure. ~nods~ But good on him.
DeleteNot me. His regular teachers, likely.
DeleteYay for him mellowing out :)
ReplyDeleteSo much yea.
DeleteChemistry I did quite well in, and I'm not good in math.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Maybe he was going through a rough period at home when he was a little terror! I'm happy he's now "mellowed".
ReplyDeleteThat's Purrfect
Well that's a great surprise. Good for him :)
ReplyDelete