Summer School: DAEP style

My last two summer's have been spent with kiddos from the DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Education Program) in my district.  These students have been given consequences either from the state or city courts or their home campus based on their poor choices and actions.  Many of their consequences come with about a 90 day stay at the alternative school.  If these students do not complete their number of days BEFORE the school year concludes, they are required by law to begin the subsequent school year at the DAEP campus, instead of their home campus.  For 8th grade students going to 9th grade, this is a "bad" thing.  They will not be able to start their high school careers at their home school, with their friends.

So, the DAEP program allows for a select few students to come during the summer at NO CHARGE to the student or parent.  The program is four days a week for 6 weeks and ONLY 8 am-12 pm.  All the students have to do is come to school on-time, in dress-code and do what they are asked or told to do for the four hours they are present.  This should not be a hard thing to do, but for many of these kids, even though they are the among the "best" students on the DAEP campus, it is a very challenging feat.  Two students have already been kicked out, and they will spend their full term at the DAEP in the fall, NONE of the days they spent with us this summer will count for them; they simply wasted a portion of their summer.

That being said, there are a few really great, funny kiddos.  One of them in my second group struggles with English and Reading as a whole and requires quite a bit of help and guidance from me.  While helping him the other day, he looked up at me with an amused yet quizzical look and said, 

"Mrs. you must really like riding your bike; your calves are huge!"

I snickered to myself and said in an amused voice, "thank you..."

I knew what he meant. :)  My calves are fairly defined generally, but they are even more so now that I have been riding my road bike, this summer.  

He didn't think anything of his statement and didn't realize that what he said was incorrect, and he whole-heartedly meant it as a compliment.  I took it as such, but it really made me realize how socially handicapped our students are, and how poor their vocabulary really is.

He had no idea that was an inappropriate statement or why it would have been considered such.

He had no idea that he should have used the word defined or a synonym of it instead of "huge".  In his world, defined is ONLY used in academic terms when talking about the meaning of a vocabulary word.

As teachers...okay, ME as teacher-- I need to better understand where my kiddos are socially and what vocabulary they know as "academic" versus "social".  There is very little PRIOR KNOWLEDGE with these kids--in their lives.  Situations like these could so easily be turned into "teachable moments" BUT I am so shocked sometimes by what they do not understand/know that I just sit in shock...and awe at the situation for a while.  

Lord, help me be better on my feet when situations come up that I could use to teach my kiddos even more than the prescribed curriculum and state standards.  I do not want to embarrass them or make them believe I think they are stupid.  I want them to know that I am there to help them better themselves, and I want them to be able see how learning to use words correctly and appropriately will help them become more successful in their lives.  I want to help them see that their lives CAN be different and BETTER than what they are currently.  Their lives DO NOT have to forever be just as they are right now.  These kids are children of God, and they have a destiny.  I want them to reach this destiny!  God has a plan for them, He wants to prosper them, He does not want them to hurt.  Please Father, help me be a guiding light in their lives.

In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Mrs. ABC