Week 4-blog 5 reflection on Devin Bryant

Devin,
Don't feel guilty for what you can't control. I have a similar situation this year where one student changes the dynamics of the classroom. When he is gone the classroom environment is totally calmed down and focused. Fortunately for me, I only deal with him one hour a day, but I feel for the other kids stuck with him. When we were setting up our kids in class lists for next years teachers we tried to make sure most of the students with him this year won't have him next year to give them a break. This problem student of mine comes from a home environment where it's always the school picking on him and not his fault. When you talk to him it's never his fault. It's sad, but as teachers we only have them for a short part of the day, and the influence from home can be great or a real problem. Enjoy the rest of the year because normally a child like that never goes away.

Devin Bryant blog:
Week 3 Classroom dynamics
So this week in my classroom something great happened. Something that most teachers wish for at least once in their teaching career. I've had a kid in my class this year who was aggressive and immature, mean spirited and violent at times (he enjoyed stabbing other children with pencils). And this week that kid moved to another state. And I know that as educators it is our job to see the good in all children, to help them achieve their potential, but lets be honest, sometimes it's a relief to have that child out of your responsibility for awhile. And what I've been amazed with now is how completely different my entire class has been. All of my other little troublemakers have calmed and settled, my class is more relaxed and that feeling of tension is gone. The whole classroom dynamic has completely changed and I am shocked by how much impact 1 little kid had on the lives of 24 other people. I hate to say that I'm glad he's gone, because it feels like a failure in some way, but it feels like a gift to be given back my sanity for the last few weeks of school. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has dealt with a situation like this before? Because I'm wrestling with feelings of guilt and joy!