Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Hormone Boy's at it again

I'm starting to think "Hormone Boy" is not the most accurate name for him. For the first time I mentioned him, it was appropriate--kissing on a girl and getting caught for it. But, if I could go back, I would call him Complacent Boy. Case in point. Every time I've written him a Lunch Detention or After School Detention or sent him out of my room, he has just shrugged his shoulders and acted like I just told him to go read in the library for the rest of the period. Today was no exception. So, he's in the back of the class, talking away with a female student (big surprise) and the "s word" slips out. Oops. I could have written him a Lunch Detention right then and there, but I decided since it was an accident, I'd just warn him. Then, not but 20 or so minutes later, the same sneaky "s word" slips out of his mouth, yet again. This time, I can't let it go. Two of my boys hop up and see on the Discipline Matrix that the second time Profanity is used is an ASD. So, I begin to write out the form. Meanwhile, Hormone Boy hasn't changed his attitude or even turned his head. He just sits there, staring into space. I am still in the process of filling out the ASD form when I realize he's now not at all working. He doesn't even have the book open or a piece of paper on his desk (they were supposed to read over a story we read yesterday and then answer questions at the end). I calmly ask him what he's doing, to which he replies that he's doing nothing. I tell him to get to work, and I leave it at that for the time being, thinking that maybe he's just peeved that I wrote him up for cussing. I turn my attention to other students and hope Hormone Boy makes the right decision on his own. He doesn't. I tell him again that it would be a good choice if he would get his work started. He just shrugs and still sits there. I wait again, and tend to some other kids. A few minutes have passed and I tell Hormone Boy, "Look, you either start working or you can go sit in the office." And he asks why. Oh, how "why?" is such a pleasant question...I tell him that he's refusing to work and I'll have to write him up. He argues that he's just not working, he's not refusing to work. I choose not to ask him what he thinks the difference is and just suggest for the last time that he gets to work. He nonchalantly gets out of his seat to put a book away. So, I tell him to go to the office. I'm not going to beg an 8th grade boy to work. He says, "okay," and heads out the door. I write ANOTHER ASD for him (this one for being Insubordinate) and send the two forms down with a trusty student. The vice principal originally just assigns him 2 ASDS: one for each offense. But after school, I decided to speak with her. ASD doesn't phase Hormone Boy. He doesn't care, and in fact there's a common consensus among his teachers that he must enjoy being in there two days a week, because he's pretty much in ASD every day it's held. She wasn't aware of that, and asked for suggestions. I said that Hormone Boy's mom and I had discussed him helping around the school. The vice principal liked that idea. So, instead of sitting in ASD the two days she assigned, he will be working with the custodial staff, cleaning walls, scrubbing floors, whatever they want and need him to do. Maybe after two days of that, he'll realize that acting up will eventually have consequences that he doesn't like. And maybe the school will get clean along the way...

1 comments:

* K * said...

I like that idea, and I hope it works. But it is what is underneath that behavior that concerns me. That boy is calling out for someone to care, and he is showing it by his negative behavior. Attention is attention, right?

best of luck to you!