Patrick* was an eighth grade student in my Spanish 1 class. He was identified as gifted, but his social behavior made him an easy target for ridicule. Even before the spotlight was on bullying, I was sensitive to this and determined to do anything I could from preventing that in my classroom. The problem was that Patrick was a crier, and 8th grade is well past the time that it is socially acceptable for boys to cry.
In addition to being a crier, Patrick refused to do anything in class - he wouldn't participate at all. When I handed him a paper to work on, he would crumple it up into a ball and throw it right back at me. The time came for Patrick and I to have a conversation. I was kind to him, emphasizing my desire to help him (in addition to the extreme patience I had already offered on a near daily basis). As the bell rang at the end of class that day, I stood by the door saying goodbye to all my students. I couldn't help but notice Patrick slipping a piece of paper onto my desk before he shuffled out, head down.
As I walked back to my desk to retrieve the paper, I was excited. Perhaps something I said had broken through to him. I mean, a note was more communication than I had ever received from him in the past. I opened up the note to see an illustration followed by a short message. The message read "If you really want to help me, you will kill yourself". The illustration was a drawing of me, hanging by my neck, from a large tree.
No matter how hard you try, you just can't win 'em all - but you can get them psychological help, which I promptly did.
In addition to being a crier, Patrick refused to do anything in class - he wouldn't participate at all. When I handed him a paper to work on, he would crumple it up into a ball and throw it right back at me. The time came for Patrick and I to have a conversation. I was kind to him, emphasizing my desire to help him (in addition to the extreme patience I had already offered on a near daily basis). As the bell rang at the end of class that day, I stood by the door saying goodbye to all my students. I couldn't help but notice Patrick slipping a piece of paper onto my desk before he shuffled out, head down.
As I walked back to my desk to retrieve the paper, I was excited. Perhaps something I said had broken through to him. I mean, a note was more communication than I had ever received from him in the past. I opened up the note to see an illustration followed by a short message. The message read "If you really want to help me, you will kill yourself". The illustration was a drawing of me, hanging by my neck, from a large tree.
No matter how hard you try, you just can't win 'em all - but you can get them psychological help, which I promptly did.
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