Teaching Hellewell

Alternative Feats: It Won’t Work Unless You Try The harder it gets, When it is too hard to bare, I write it all out. When life becomes expiry, When the darkness gets darker, I write it all out. As my troubles grow rigid, As my soul lacks nurture, I write it all out. About to explode, My breaking point is near, so I must write it out. Ideally, the "I" in this poem would be my students. I have noticed that most of them have cut markings from elbow to wrist, and it breaks my heart. The majority of them have been, or are going through, stuff that the normal person would crumble over. They are stronger than they realize, and the thought of them cutting themselves to cope with situations that are mostly out of their control is hard to even think about.                 About a week ago, I had a student express the urge to show me a picture that was on her phone. I re...

Thus far, over the past few weeks, I have had a pretty easy going internship (knocks on wood); however, I have encountered my first sleeper...and when I say sleeper, I mean this kid is clearly exhausted. I have tried everything from staying engaged with him throughout the hour, to constant "Hey buddy! Wake up!". He isn't argumentative when I attempt my redirection from the back of his eyelids to our classwork, but he cannot stay focused for more than 5 minutes. I work with special needs students, primarily emotionally disabled, so I am trying to take into count that he might be on medications that make him tired. Also, a lot of the students who attend my school have chaotic home lives, so that could be another factor. Luckily, my class size is small enough where I can sit with him, along with the others, and keep him on task. My concern is what to do when I cannot sit by his side. What do I do then? Other than that, it has been a smooth ride! I enjoy my MT and the stu...