True to living in Missouri the weather has changed again and we have (gasp) snow in the forecast-not enough to get excited about but at least more like winter. My class of after school long term suspension kids are still hard at work or at least looking like they are hard at work. I catch one watching music videos once in a while but at least he is here (probably at the request of his J.O.!)
School is back up and running-just finished our 5th day and our 85th overall. My retirement from real education has been excellent and this gig is the best! Just as long as I can go home at night and not have to worry about where some of these kids are sleeping or whether they can still pay their rent at the end of the month, life is good!
Politics: The wrong person won in NH last night but then the race is not over. Did the NH folks tell the pollsters what the pollsters wanted to hear-yes I am not racist and I will vote for the man with the strange name-then when I get in the booth I will vote for how I really feel? Did the other candidate starting to "choke up" and act like a real person have an effect? Was the "choke up" real or for the politics of the moment? But what an exciting time, great speeches, sounds hopeful that change will (can) occur, can they do what is best for us and not just the concerns of the "base"? Can the campaign stay positive about the good things?
I love my life and appreciate my gifts. I hope that I make a difference and on this Wednesday I know that when some of the students go home they will remember the old guy who taught me the importance of history, being a responsible citizen and how to appreciate "Our Town", "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "The Death of a Salesman".
Peace

So who came up with the term long term suspension and what does it mean for educators and students? I suppose that it means a students has conducted him/her self in a manner inappropriate to the school setting and now has been dismissed from that environment for a period deemed necessary for some type of improvement. But what help is there for learning any type of improvement..the student is sent home and expected to return "knowing how to act". Some schools allow students to come after school and recover credit so they will not fall farther behind but credit recovery usually has nothing for social skill recovery. Community service is usually assigned in addition to the long term suspension, so perhaps the student will learn something from serving?

I do not mean to criticize this program, just question how it could be improved-should there be work sheets required for completion, should there be a counseling unit offered, should there be some type of monitoring of behaviors, when the student returns to school, what do educators offer? As a life long educator I wish I had answers, kids do dumb things because their brains are not yet smart on those behaviors that get them kicked out, or the kid is "just mean" and has no future. What would be the proactive approach to reduce this behavior? We already have the reaction approach in place.