Karolyn
Karolyn is an eighth grader at Dearborn Middle School. I have been working with her since she was in the sixth grade. I became especially concerned about her upon realizing that her older sister had dropped out in the eighth grade and now sits at home daily on the phone or sleeping. Karolyn has a very bad habit of losing her temper and being extremely disrespectful to the adults around her. During her seventh grade year she was at her worst and seemed to be in trouble daily. I had conversation after conversation with her, but nothing seemed to be working. This year I tried a new tactic. I sat her down on the very first day of school and went through everything that took place last year. I then asked her if she wanted to do things differently this year, if she was tired of always being in trouble and being disliked by her teachers. She said yes to all three, so we sat down and created a plan to curb her attitude. I also began to pop in on her classes regularly to see exactly what she was up to. When she was doing well, I would commend her. When she was acting out, I would address it immediately. Together these things seem to be working. Karolyn still has a very hard time controlling her mouth among her peers, but her number of verbal altercations with adults has decreased exponentially this year. We keep working toward her progress one step at a time.
Iris
Iris is a sixth grader at the Dearborn. She had been coming to school late daily since she started here. I knew her father picked her up, so one day I waited with her for him to arrive. When he came, I introduced myself and expressed my concerns about her attendance. He informed me that in the mornings, he is trying to get Iris and her little brother to school, and then he and his wife to work all before 8:00 am. I understood his dilemma. The next day, I pulled Iris aside and informed her of her responsibilities as an older sister. We talked about how she is no longer a baby and it was time for her to start taking care of herself and her little brother. She understood and promised to work on it. Iris was on time everyday for a week straight. After that, a few tardies began to pop up here and there and we continue to work on it, but it is no longer a daily routine.
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