Another reflection on subbing in EBD classes

The bulk of this week's assignments have been "behavior classes" (self-contained EBD/SED classrooms). I do this a lot anyway because in spite of my initial trepidations, I've discovered that I'm actually very good at working with kids with EBD. (Keep in mind that I'm talking about the mild-moderate range that are not in out-of-school placements). For some reason, I've always been good at working with "tough crowds", and for whatever reason, subbing in EBD settings seems to work for me. Since most subs won't touch this job assignment with a ten foot pole, I have the field pretty much to myself.

I always feel like some kind of weird miracle worker because I'll come in, the kids will "test" me at first, then decide I'm totally fine and will settle right down, get right to work, and we'll have a totally "normal" day (normal, being whatever would be typical for that group/setting). For whatever reason, the very same kids who usually refuse to cooperate with subs usually stick to me like glue. People tell me all the time, "I can't believe so-and-so took to you like that." It's kind of spooky sometimes. Yesterday I was told, "You must be a good luck charm or something because these kids are NEVER this good."

As far as subbing jobs go, subbing in a self-contained EBD classroom (at least for me) is usually pretty straightforward, but let me tell you, it's an "interesting" job. I don't necessarily mean this in a bad way, although some days can be frustrating (for a lot of the same reasons that substitute teaching can be frustrating in general). Usually what it means is that there's never a dull moment. The usual sequence of events is things are calm in the morning, and as meds slowly wear off, get more hectic in the afternoon. If a kid is going to "lose it", it's usually at the end of the day, so the last hour of school can be a bit hard on the teacher. This of course, is not in any way different from the dynamics at work in mainstream classroom populations. It does require an almost inexhaustible well of patience, iron-clad consistency, and very thick skin. When working with teenagers, you learn not to take things personally, so usually I don't get flustered when kids aren't at their best. Quite often though, we do perfectly fine together, and any "episodes" are short and easily dealt with.

Most kids with EBDs are an acquired taste, but once you get past some of the barriers they put up, some can be downright likable. Working with this population can be heart breaking though. It's my observation that most of the kids with emotional/behavioral issues are the way they are due to some combination of genetics and one or more of the following: severe abuse, substance issues, other questionable parenting practices, unstable family situations (foster kids in unstable placements who may move multiple times a year), and the kind of home life that would be best described as an ongoing state of emergency. By the time they get to high school many choose to cope with the above by acquiring a drug/alcohol habit (self-medication, which makes it harder for them to learn while they're in school), and those who lack a stable family influence in their lives, tend to join gangs (in a futile search for a sense of belonging). Statistically speaking, adult outcomes for this group tend to be extremely poor, so it can be frustrating sometimes to know that these kids are going to have a really hard time out there in the real world. About all you can do, I guess, it hope for the best, and do what you can while you can.

In spite of all of their issues, many kids with EBDs seem to really enjoy school (even though they try their hardest to act as if they don't) probably because it's a safe, stable place, where there are clear boundaries and things are predictable. You have this funny phenomenon where these kids will passionately claim they "hate" school and don't want to be there, but at the same time, will commute incredibly long distances (on their own) to get to school, will be waiting outside your classroom door to be let in, want to spend all of their free time in your room, and may need to be kicked out at the end of the day. (The above only applies to students who have regular attendance, at the opposite end of this extreme is students who are enrolled, but never come to school, or only do so very sporadically).

They may roar like lions, and show you their teeth, but on the inside, they're all surprisingly scared and confused and vulnerable and want to be taken care of.