From 25 to 28

My period two class was large to begin with. Twenty five students, five different cliques, and all different types of personalities. When I learned that a new student would be starting in my class on Friday, I thought "hey, what's one more?" But I then learned that the student was coming from a self contained special education room. Thought of how He was going to add to my already challenging classroom environment swirled through my mind. I'll admit, I was nervous. I was told that he would have an aid with him at all times and a psychologist would be there for most of the time too. My classroom of twenty five had turned into a full house of twenty eight. Every single desk occupied. Twenty eight pairs of eyes staring at me. 

When Friday came, I was confident in my lesson but afraid of how the new student would react to it. I was told that he was immature for his age and did not get along with others well. Good thing I had group work planned for his first day (insert sarcastic tone here). But I was determined not to change the lesson that I loved. Instead I was going to work hard to fit him into a group that I knew would best accept him and I would accommodate his needs. 

When the lesson started and I broke him into his group I could see a sense of panic across his face. I went over and said, "If at any time you feel like the group is too much for you, just call me over and we will figure it out." He smiled and nodded at me. That was it. We started the lesson. He was engaged the entire time. When he called out of turn or made an unnecessary comment (which is something that has been attributed to his disability) I was told to ignore it. However, a lot of the time what he was saying was actually brilliant and able to be connected to the lesson. So instead of ignoring it, I would use his answer to acquaint him with the class. I used segways such as "Did everyone hear what Matt said?" and "Matt could you repeat that for the group to hear?" He quickly became a part of the classroom. 

I have to say that I was extremely content with the way class turned out on Friday. My nerves were calmed when the student began participating in class and was engaged in the lesson. It will be a learning experience for me but I am extremely grateful to be able to encounter it so early on in my teaching career. There are great resources in place for me to use to aid this student in being just as successful as the other students in my class.