I want to post this because it allows me to reflect and hopefully allow teens to be seen in a positive way.
Today we were working on taking apart owl pellets in 7th grade science. In this class I have 3 boys that are very high needs and I work with them on a 3 to 1 scale all the time while the regular ed teacher works with the other 22 kids. Today, because of the project, I asked 3 8th graders if they wanted to help out in class instead of sitting in study hall. I paired them up and stood back. These 8th graders are the coolest kids in school and they were willing to help out the special ed kids without a question. After the hour was over, all 3 of my kids were excited to work with the "cool" kids and asked them to come back tomorrow. One of these "cool" kids also helps me out with an EBD kid as a mentor. Last year I got the "cool" kid in the Learn to Hunt program and we talk hunting all the time. I am thinking about getting him a turkey call as a way to say thanks for being humble and working with everyone that needs a hand.
It is so wonderful to see teenagers do the RIGHT thing when others around them are selfish and are unwilling to help others.
Sorry this was long but I wanted to share with everyone that there are good kids coming up behind us in this world.
