Carol just sent this link and offered this discussion:
http://aftab.com/index.php?page=the-challenges
A brief perusal found this and a story about a gay teacher in California who ultimately committed suicide after constant harassment by students. It is very real and extremely sad. I am afraid the answer to the problem is complex – it’s a heart thing and some of our children seem to have no ability to empathize. I will have to think about this for a bit. Chez moi, we had an element in last year’s senior class that the school seemed absolutely powerless to deal with. The problem was compounded by the good kids who were afraid to speak up, so your suggestion number one speaks to that – how to empower the good kids to be part of the solution. As easy as it may be for us to speak the truth to injustice, it may not be as easy for the peers of the aggressors to call them out publicly in class. We have had presentations ad nauseum. One of the library aids finally got so sick of the dirty tricks and the inability of the administration to deal with it, she kicked it up to HR as a hostile workplace environment problem and finally got some relief. I think there is a lot of sweeping under the rug, turning a blind eye – a fear of the school looking bad to the general public that keeps this crap on the DL. At least that least that was my perception of our difficulties last year. The problem is complex. The fact that it’s necessary to find ways to not only defend ourselves but protect ourselves in the classroom is so sad. I am thinking.
Carol
PS: Susie was fabulous.You were right that her upper level workshop is a winner. Had 43 paid participants on a Saturday who got value added via Laurie and her words of wisdom on embedded reading. Jeff Forney gave a short presentation on a brain based strategy based he’s been using in class based on the work of Bob Greenleaf.
