School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 1 – week 24
Helping each other in school
I did not meet with the first-grade scholars last week because I was in the process of moving to a house I had just purchased. I am eager to meet with them this week.
I hear them coming now.
Me: Good morning class. I am happy to see all of you. Yes, before you ask, I brought cookies.
Class: Yea. Thank you, Mr. Jim.
Me: Ahmes and Sue will you pass out the cookies please?
The cookies are soon passed out and apparently inhaled.
Me: The assignment was for you and your families to discuss what you would like to see done when someone is not doing well in school. Who is ready to share what you and your family recommends?
Tara: When we have a problem at home we find out the reason for the problem.
Me: That makes sense but what are you saying about dealing with kids who are having problems in school.
Tara: Dad said that when he was in school if someone was not doing well they were called lazy or bad. He and mom said that there are a lot of reasons why someone might be having a difficult time.
Sam: We talked about the fact that mom, dad or you, Uncle Jim, are always there to help us with homework. We know kids who only have one parent and they are working. There is no one to help them.
Me: So if we labeled them as bad or lazy that is not identifying the problem. What should we do if there is no one to help someone with their homework?
Sam: We could invite them to our house.
Tara: One of the parents who is available could come to the school.
Me: That is an idea but then the kids would miss the bus and could not get home. What if a parent could not pick them up?
Tara: We talked about that and if there were several kids, we did not know if the parent driving them home would be allowed to do that. Would their car then become a school bus?
Me: Good thinking. So, we would need to find out that information.
Sam: Some of the kids in our grade live close enough to walk. That is not true for Paul’s class.
Me: That is a good point Sam.
Steve: Sometimes I do not do homework because the teaches just screams at me for mistakes. If I am supposed to be learning, why do they scream at me?
Me: That is an excellent point. You think that homework should be part of the process of seeing what someone needs help with.
Class: Yes!!!
Susie: It is fun when I get everything right and the teacher is happy and gives me a star or something.
Me: Yes, we all like to get praise, but I am hearing that we should get praise for trying to learn and not just because we know something. What else did families recommend?
Tommy: In pre-school some kids did really well in reading but I had a tough time. Just recently it became easier for me.
Me: Great point. What do you think happened Tommy?
Tommy: My mom and dad said that sometimes brains are not ready at the same time.
Me: That is a great point Tommy.
Sofia: My mom said that sometimes bad things are happening at home and school is not that important.
Me: Great point Sofia. Sometimes it is difficult for kids to talk about what is happening at home. Sometimes families do not want kids telling others.
Ahmes: We are very worried if the president is going to make some of us go back even though we are here legally.
Susie: What if someone is here illegally? That would be scary Mr. Jim
Me: Yes it would. When I am worried, it is hard for me to learn.
Tommy: The mother of one of my friends is dying of cancer. She cries all the time.
Me: It sounds as if everyone is saying that there may be a lot of reasons why someone is not doing well in school. We need to get better at finding out the reason. With any problem, we need to know the cause of the problem before we try to fix it, don’t we?
Ahmes: My mother said that sometimes the class is very large and the teacher does not have a lot of extra time for all the kids.
Me: That is a good point Ahmes. We cannot put all the responsibilities on the teachers.
Sam: Everyone seems really busy and not everyone has an Uncle Jim to help and a tiny class as this one.
Me: That is an excellent point Sam.
Sue: Near us is a home for old people. Some of the kids adopted a grandparent but then they adopted the kid and were helping with homework and stuff. I go see Mrs. Ella twice a week. She is really nice. I can tell her anything.
Me: That is a great program Sue. I wonder why that does not happen more?
Sue: There are a lot of old people who can still do a lot.
Me: That is true I hear everyone saying that when we act like a big family instead of just a bunch of little families we can do more.
Steve: My aunt designs houses and she says that we can build neighborhoods which make it easier for people to get to know each other.
Me: Great point Steve. I was reading the other day about some tall apartment buildings being built in a way that encourages neighbors to get to know each other.
Steve: My aunt showed me a program on the computer where we could play with buildings.
Me: Those are great fun. Once again I had a great time today. You are all amazing. Time is nearly up. Sofia and Sam, will you pass out the rest of the cookies please?
They do so and again they quickly disappear.
Me: Between now and next week let’s talk with our families about the importance of dreaming about who we want to be and how we make those dreams come true. Have a good week everyone?
Class: Goodbye Mr. Jim
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Written February 8, 2017
Helping each other in school
I did not meet with the first-grade scholars last week because I was in the process of moving to a house I had just purchased. I am eager to meet with them this week.
I hear them coming now.
Me: Good morning class. I am happy to see all of you. Yes, before you ask, I brought cookies.
Class: Yea. Thank you, Mr. Jim.
Me: Ahmes and Sue will you pass out the cookies please?
The cookies are soon passed out and apparently inhaled.
Me: The assignment was for you and your families to discuss what you would like to see done when someone is not doing well in school. Who is ready to share what you and your family recommends?
Tara: When we have a problem at home we find out the reason for the problem.
Me: That makes sense but what are you saying about dealing with kids who are having problems in school.
Tara: Dad said that when he was in school if someone was not doing well they were called lazy or bad. He and mom said that there are a lot of reasons why someone might be having a difficult time.
Sam: We talked about the fact that mom, dad or you, Uncle Jim, are always there to help us with homework. We know kids who only have one parent and they are working. There is no one to help them.
Me: So if we labeled them as bad or lazy that is not identifying the problem. What should we do if there is no one to help someone with their homework?
Sam: We could invite them to our house.
Tara: One of the parents who is available could come to the school.
Me: That is an idea but then the kids would miss the bus and could not get home. What if a parent could not pick them up?
Tara: We talked about that and if there were several kids, we did not know if the parent driving them home would be allowed to do that. Would their car then become a school bus?
Me: Good thinking. So, we would need to find out that information.
Sam: Some of the kids in our grade live close enough to walk. That is not true for Paul’s class.
Me: That is a good point Sam.
Steve: Sometimes I do not do homework because the teaches just screams at me for mistakes. If I am supposed to be learning, why do they scream at me?
Me: That is an excellent point. You think that homework should be part of the process of seeing what someone needs help with.
Class: Yes!!!
Susie: It is fun when I get everything right and the teacher is happy and gives me a star or something.
Me: Yes, we all like to get praise, but I am hearing that we should get praise for trying to learn and not just because we know something. What else did families recommend?
Tommy: In pre-school some kids did really well in reading but I had a tough time. Just recently it became easier for me.
Me: Great point. What do you think happened Tommy?
Tommy: My mom and dad said that sometimes brains are not ready at the same time.
Me: That is a great point Tommy.
Sofia: My mom said that sometimes bad things are happening at home and school is not that important.
Me: Great point Sofia. Sometimes it is difficult for kids to talk about what is happening at home. Sometimes families do not want kids telling others.
Ahmes: We are very worried if the president is going to make some of us go back even though we are here legally.
Susie: What if someone is here illegally? That would be scary Mr. Jim
Me: Yes it would. When I am worried, it is hard for me to learn.
Tommy: The mother of one of my friends is dying of cancer. She cries all the time.
Me: It sounds as if everyone is saying that there may be a lot of reasons why someone is not doing well in school. We need to get better at finding out the reason. With any problem, we need to know the cause of the problem before we try to fix it, don’t we?
Ahmes: My mother said that sometimes the class is very large and the teacher does not have a lot of extra time for all the kids.
Me: That is a good point Ahmes. We cannot put all the responsibilities on the teachers.
Sam: Everyone seems really busy and not everyone has an Uncle Jim to help and a tiny class as this one.
Me: That is an excellent point Sam.
Sue: Near us is a home for old people. Some of the kids adopted a grandparent but then they adopted the kid and were helping with homework and stuff. I go see Mrs. Ella twice a week. She is really nice. I can tell her anything.
Me: That is a great program Sue. I wonder why that does not happen more?
Sue: There are a lot of old people who can still do a lot.
Me: That is true I hear everyone saying that when we act like a big family instead of just a bunch of little families we can do more.
Steve: My aunt designs houses and she says that we can build neighborhoods which make it easier for people to get to know each other.
Me: Great point Steve. I was reading the other day about some tall apartment buildings being built in a way that encourages neighbors to get to know each other.
Steve: My aunt showed me a program on the computer where we could play with buildings.
Me: Those are great fun. Once again I had a great time today. You are all amazing. Time is nearly up. Sofia and Sam, will you pass out the rest of the cookies please?
They do so and again they quickly disappear.
Me: Between now and next week let’s talk with our families about the importance of dreaming about who we want to be and how we make those dreams come true. Have a good week everyone?
Class: Goodbye Mr. Jim
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Written February 8, 2017
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