Torn Pages

Last week was a tough one for me in room 105.  If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all...and I was really struggling to find the bright moments, therefore no posts. It started Tuesday when (we'll call him Jimmy) Jimmy* was upset about his take home book selection.  8 years ago when I first started teaching early primary (kindergarten) I started a take home book program.  I saw the need for my students to practice their reading at home.  Also, there is plenty of research to support a strong connection between school and home.  I saw a take home book program as a way to meet both of these needs so I wrote a grant for $488.  I was successful and was able to purchase 80 books at early kindergarten levels that the kids could take home each night and read to their families.  I tracked how often they brought their books back to school and found that after 3 months, students that returned their books even 40% of the time were reading at benchmark (right where they are supposed to be).  I parlayed this action research into another grant for $1500 for more books at more levels.  Books are a precious commodity in my classroom held in the highest regard.  That was until Tuesday.  Jimmy was unhappy with his take home book choice and decided the best way to express it was to ruin the very book he wished to take. In a fit he threw a pitcher of water on the ground, tossed his reading journal, and tore the page of one of my books.  I was completely taken aback. I'm sure you're thinking it's not that big of a deal. It's just one page of one book but it's just so much more than that. Those books are my blood, sweat, and tears. I provide them for my students because I believe with all of my heart that they will help boost not only their reading achievement but their love for reading.  How could he do such a thing? What is going on inside a 7 year old that prompts him to act this way? What is torn inside of him that he could become so angry? Luckily, I have several colleagues that will help me find out. A little tape will repair the page of my book but I think it is going to take much more than that to repair Jimmy.