now heavy backpack was Reintro

[Guest guest]

Dear

Sandee,

As

a seventh grade teacher, I train parents to run a clinic during the study hall

opposite lunch to help students manage their lockers and book bags.

I

don’t know about your daughter’s building, but let me tell you

about my building that houses 2000 middleschoolers.

We

teachers expect the students to learn when to go to their lockers.

It

is a skill that some avoid because they are terrified that they will be late to

class.

If

she were in my building, I, or one of my parent volunteers, would sit down and

look at when she is near her locker and help her to figure out when to go to

her locker and switch out bags.

We

would put her am binders and materials in a cloth bag (like they use for groceries)

and her pm stuff in another bag. No one sees the bag. Just lift it

out and hang it in the locker and grab the other one and slide it in the book

bag. (This is preferable to a bag with wheels if the student has to climb

stairs. With wheels, they stop to pick up the bag and other students aren’t

thinking about a wheeled bag and they push forward, for me it is a safety

issue. The students who use the elevator use the wheeled bags, but in our

building it is setting your child up as a target for the bullies.)

Then

I would walk with your daughter so that she could use my watch to see that

indeed there is time to stop, open the locker and make it to class, even if it

feels like there isn’t time.

You

should find a map of the building, and trace her classes – more than

likely she can go to her locker, even if it is on the way to lunch.

Don’t

be diverted with the feeling her classes are all over, in reality there is

almost always a logical time from an adult’s eyes.

If

a student can’t use a regular lock, we provide one with numbers that are

aligned and opens more quickly.

As

for heavy books, we tell our students to bring their books home and leave them

there as we have a class set. Yet some students insist on lugging them.

Check to see if that is the case – she just may have so many books

because she needs to bring them home and then the problem will go away.

How

would a parent find me so that the student is helped?

Usually

a parent would call the guidance office or the IEP teacher, or the assistant

principal and explains that her child needs extra help and that while most

students learn this over the course of the next few weeks, your child needs to

figure this out now because of anxiety or visits to the nurse.

Usually

an IEP teacher or counselor or kindly secretary will help. If not, if you

are able to pick her up at school and trace her classes and show her what I

described above, or else do it before school then that would help.

We have so many requests, that this is now my duty rather than monitoring a study

hall. Most buildings have someone who will help, if none of the other people

can help, try the homeroom teacher.

Let

us know how it works.

E.C.

Bernard.

www.ecbernard.org

__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5355 (20100810) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

http://www.eset.com

__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5355 (20100810) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

http://www.eset.com