Breakthrough!

Today I had what I consider to be a major victory. It involved one of those students I never felt I could get through to. He wouldn't make eye contact, and he would mumble at me. The only time he would talk to me is when he was in trouble and I would tell him he had to answer me before he could go to recess. Then he would mumble "OK" to my question about how he's going to behave better and take off. This was an issue other teachers had with him, although he talked to his peers with no problem. He just seemed to have a hard time with adults.

Lately, he's been making progress. First, he was opening his textbook to the correct page! (his classroom teacher dissmissed that as trying to get a good report in the upcoming conferences). Last week, I invited students to write questions about George Gershwin on the board, and he wrote one incorporating a fact I had told them about him. Then, today, he raised his hand to answer a question and gave me an appropriate answer!!! I'm feeling so much better; I will never forget the girl who left last year and I never felt like I could get through to her: she was a classic "revenge behavior" student. So now I have hope.