Second week of Dreaming Out Loud

Yesterday was my second week of the social skills class. It went really well again. The conduct disorder kids are taking over the class while the kids with Aspergers are sitting with their heads down, but I was asked to let them relax and listen and hope some of it will sink in while they are getting adjusted to their new environment.

The school is a nice school with a good vibe but yesterday the kids tried to turn our class into a teacher bashing session. So, since we were talking about feelings, their homework is to come back to class next week ready to talk about a feeling they felt strongly during this week to come. I expect many of them will talk about a teacher being unfair (in their opinion) to them. It will give me a perfect chance to talk to them about their role in the situation and what they can do differently in the future.

They were surprised to hear that I was excited to come back to see them this week.

Most of them are willing to say they have problems with impulse control, so we're in a good place to start. Unfortunately they feel like they are outcasts or "bad" kids. We will work to change that. I think they are great. Some have problems in the area of entitlement or regular teen aged thinking errors. It will be even more interesting when the kids with Aspergers come out of their shells. I feel very hopeful about what we can accomplish here, and even more hopeful because they are eager and willing to participate.

The school library (just noticed the American flag). Such a nice room to teach in!

The front of the room is all windows overlooking an outdoor soccer field in the middle of the school

My silly kids
This was a contest to see who can name the most feelings
You can tell from the picture who won - the girl in the back