Are. You. Kidding.

Hi Ms. C!

Happy Wednesday! I am a Clinical Director at Ed Supports services and
wanted to check in with you re: a couple of things. I am sorry we haven't
had time to meet face to face- have been running around a bit in other ASC
classrooms, putting out fires, helping to organize, etc.

We are giving a training on 11/30 after school from 2-5 at Foster re: a
specific social skills program for ASC that can be implemented in many
situations. We are also providing staffing in ASC classrooms to help
facilitate these skills. Would love to touch base with u re: you and your
staff attending(it is in lieu of the regular training)and other ways we
can assist in your classroom.

I could stop by your class briefly on Friday if you'd like an/or the week
we return.

Thanks!




Dear K,
    I have spent the last three years designing, collecting resources for, and effectively implementing my own social skills curriculum for ASC.  In fact, many of the resources Ed Supports has distributed in the past have come from my curriculum.  I would love to collaborate, and am always interested in new resources, but find a three hour training on how to use my own materials a bit unnecessary.  Please let me know if you think those three hours will be a good use of my time.  
   When I was offered support in the past there was no follow through, and it has been very frustrating to repeatedly be offered resources, only to ultimately end up making them myself.  I think we're doing very well in terms of social skills here at BH so please feel free to spend your time following through in the classrooms that might need more support.  I know that I would have loved the additional support during my first year in ASC.


Thank you.

The New Rick

Last year Rick always did what he thought would make people like him more.  Always.  He would make things up if he thought it would impress someone.  And he would always do what the teacher asked... always.  Now, adults title this behavior "People-Pleasing."  Middle schoolers title it "Ass-Kissing."  Rick was every teachers' favorite student, and every students' favorite kid to bully.

Meet:  The New Rick

-9:25pm; Test Message from Mr. Black:  "So I asked Rick why he hasn't been changing into his P.E. clothes."

-9:27pm; Text from Ms. C:  "Oh!  Thanks so much for following up with that!  What'd he say?"

-9:30pm; Text from Mr. Black:  "'didn't get dressed 'cuz I didn't feel like it.  You heard me.'"

-9:32pm; Text from Ms. C:  "Fuck."

-9:35; Text from Mr. Black:  "Count it as a success.  We taught him to pick up on social cues... we've turned him into a normal punk ass seventh grader."

Great.

amazing

Bitchy Betty (i.e. Ms. C)

I have professional development in about 20 minutes.  Last month we learned how to assess multiple paragraph essays... most of my kids can't even SPEAK using multiple, coherent SENTENCES, let alone write them!

Here's my question:  In what other profession are employees asked to attend an hour and a half meeting once a month that HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE JOB THEY PERFORM?!

Burn-out scale today = dangerously high

Ned

Ned has been following a 7th grade girl around during lunch time:

Mr. Black:  "How can you tell when someone is interested in talking to you?"

Ned:  "They look at you and they smile at you and they face their body to you."

Mr. Black:  "Okay... so has Malinda showed you that she's interested in talking to you?"

Ned:  "No."

Mr. Black:  "Good.  How do you know Malinda is not interested in talking to you?"

Ned (closes his eyes, smiles pleasantly, and nods his head like he always does when he knows the answer to a question):  "Because she faces her back to me and she walks away from me."

Mr. Black:  "Good.  So, you have to stop following her around."

Ned (popping his eyes open and furrowing his brow as if someone just told him Christmas had been canceled for the year):  "BuT sHe'S jUsT sO pReTtY, aNd I jUsT... I jUsT... I jUsT... wAnNa LOOK aT hEr!"

Why I love teaching in room 212:

Anyone who has met an average middle schooler knows that they notice EVERYTHING related to appearance.  They are so concerned about the way they look, and the way that others look, they can hardly function.

Yesterday I got a photofacial.  I've never done anything like this before, but have been feeling a bit run down lately, so I decided to treat myself.  The way a photofacial works is that an esthetician shoots a strong beam of light onto your face.  Over the following week, all of your freckles, scars, red spots, etc. show up really dark and then disappear forever.  I'm in the "really dark" phase of the treatment.

Not a single one of my students noticed that I look like I have the plague...