the volunteer coordinator walked me to the 3rd grade class room. we met the teacher who seemed worn out. she told us my student had been sent to the office for bad behavior-- not something that had even crossed my mind. we walked to the office to meet an adorable little boy. we said hi, and he glanced up and then went right back to his puzzle. the principal asked us to go into his office. we sat at the table and talked about my role. while this was going on, instead of sitting at the table listening, or at least sitting, the boy was running around the office, climbing on chairs and desks. the principal thought it'd be a good idea to have the boy give me a tour of the school, so he sent me out in to the vast school without giving me any background on the boy.
we left, and as soon as we were out of eye sight of the office, the boy ran off. he ran up the stairs and i had no idea where he was. this was scary. they had just given me this kid, and already, he was lost. i stumbled into the cafeteria and peered around, hoping my student was in the room. he jumped out and scared me. this was not going to be easy, but i stayed patient. he talked with me for no more than 2 seconds and was racing away again. finally i told him to sit down, and he did. i asked him if he wanted me there. he said he did, but i wasn't sure. again, he was having me do many things. this kid was clever and more manipulative than any 8 year old i'd ever met.
we settled on a game of kickball. not sure i was supposed to be doing that, but it was the only thing that kept us in the same room. we played until i was tired, and then we played for about 15 more minutes. a teacher came in and asked us to go up to her room. i told her we'd be up there soon. when i told my student to head on up, he raced out of the gym. i, of course, had no idea where to go, so i climbed the stairs and looked around until i found the woman.
we sat at the table, watching the student pay with animals. finally, the bell rang, and he bolted out of the room. i stayed later, completely feeling like i had not helped at all. i was so confused, i had no idea how to help this child. being his friend was not really an option since he couldn't stay seated long enough to talk to me.
as it turns out, he's had a rough background. i'm not sure why the school gave him to me, but they did. i need this kind of exposure, and i'm sure it'll get better. it's always going to be a challenge, and i need to establish some kind of order, or at least let him know i'm the boss, but we'll get there.
lastly, about 15 minutes ago, i received an e-mail from the volunteer coordinator telling me i should be happy and have fun volunteering-- well between you and me, i did not have fun. i was worried the kid was going to run away from the school, and he was rude and loud and i had no idea how to make him happy or even listen to me. the entire time i was there, i was temped to leave, just say i couldn't handle it. but, the truth is, with all the things this kid has been though, the last thing he needs is for someone else to give up on him. so i won't. i'm going back tomorrow, it might be better, but most likely not. i signed up to make a difference, now i just need to accomplish it.
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