Bmeandering

Bmeandering

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Last Bit of Color and End of Week Psalm

                                      These are actually leaves.  The flowers have been long gone.
                                           The leaves change color in the fall and stay this way
                                                     until the cold comes and stays.
I don't remember what the flowers are called.
 They bloom from early until late summer.
 Thank you for all your comments to my last post
and for your support.
Thursday and Friday were better.

I changed the direction of the seats.
Now my desk is in front of the seats
instead of in the back. 

I have a wonderful first period class.
They moved the furniture
and the big screen for the overhead. 

There is only one place the desk can be
because of other factors,
 so everything else
had to change.

Now the boys are in the middle of the back
 near the heat register.
They are not near my air conditioner (I had to buy it and it stays even if I don't).
They are not near the books
or the bulletin board
so they cannot easily vandalize when I'm not looking.

But most importantly
they are not near me.

Because the seats are spread out by width,
there is a buffer of empty seats around them.
This helps the other students ignore them.

They can no longer directly bother me.
They can even talk amongst themselves
and the rest of us can ignore them.

This is bugging them, because they want to bug us,
especially me.

Will it work in the long run?  I don't know.
I just know Thursday and Friday were better days.

On Friday, I gave out Tootsie Pops to everyone
but them.
Everyone else had been reading the story
and working on the worksheet.
'They' had been talking with each other
and generally goofing off.

After realizing they were not being offered any
 one boy immediately read two paragraphs
and insisted that should warrant a sucker.

I didn't argue; didn't engage.
I simply said that those who had been consistently working
throughout the entire period would get a sucker.

Now, "I'm mean."
I can live with mean.
It's the f work flung at me
that
I can do without.

Here's the end of the week Psalm.

Psalm 61
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments.

1) HEAR MY cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2) From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].
3) For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me; a strong tower against the adversary.
4) I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever;
 let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings.
Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
5) For You, O God, have heard my vows'
You have given me the heritage of those who fear, revere, and honor Your name. . .
(The next verses relate directly to David as King)
Last verse:
8) So will I sing praise to Your name forever, paying my vows day by day.


May you have a wonderful weekend.


     
[A footnote: Folks have been wondering about the grade level of these boys.  It's freshmen or 9th grade as we call it in the U.S.  These boys are 15 and 16.]


Most of the leaves are gone now.  Fall has winter holding onto its tail.

7 comments:

  1. "fall has winter holding onto its tail." : )

    I'm shaking my head over the school stuff... why are they even allowed to be there? But everything you're doing sounds wise. Maybe they'll get the picture.

    As for the psalm - "let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings." That about says it all...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a practical solution...creative thinking! Now I'm wondering how old these kids are...sounds as if they're in junior high...

    Hope you're finding refuge this weekend. Monday will come soon enough!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful, colorful. Love it. The bland time of year is hitting us, and that's the hard time for me.

    I'll read your previous post(s), and see what you were handling. So sorry. And, it's nice to see Jack's face on your marginal area. I have to send some of the photos taken in LA. What a treat he had!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Vibrant beauty ... you have been in my prayers. "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful Fall colors, Beth. Ours are pretty much all gone!!!

    Glad Thurs. and Fri. were better at school... Sometimes a seating change will help. It's such a shame that those boys are so bad... Don't you have someone (principal or someone) who can help with the discipline problems? Gosh--it has to be so hard to be a teacher these days. I'm so sorry.

    Have a wonderful Sunday... Love your Psalms.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  6. So glad the end of the week was better for you. It's so sad - and wrong - for a few to hinder those who want to learn. Does your school have detention or in-school suspension? Sounds as if you need more support from administration. But I know that doesn't always happen. I pray that God will give you wisdom; and it appears that's already happening!

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

    ReplyDelete
  7. glad you had a better two days.
    i like changing around the furniture sometimes...and a class of young folks to move things around would be great.
    what helpers!

    lovely photos.

    ReplyDelete

I welcome your thoughts. Please let me know you stopped by.