I wrote about the child diagnosed with ADHD who seemed to have no remorse about the ill-effects of his impulsive behavior in this post.

Looking back, I ponder if my “judgment” on the matter was right or wrong. Of course I don’t know what was going on in the mind of that particular child on that particular incident, but comparing typically-growing children to children diagnosed with special needs, the former would most likely give an apology when needed and if found to be “at fault” whether the fault was explicitly done or not.

The remorse issue came to mind because of a behavioral episodes a few of my students have and had done in the past few months. They, individually, did something that made their family and close friends worried.

What if one would choose to be with [underage] friends while they try to drink illegally? There were, are, issues of smoking cigarettes and natural cigars bought secretly among teens, I am just not sure about my students.

What about the “thrill” of trying to get something from another student? Bullying as well as being bullied is another concern. Failing grades. And so on and so forth.

In all of these things, usually, most children would show remorse and make promises to do better. These promises get broken and the cycle begins again.

As a teacher, I am a part of the lives of several children and when questions regarding their behavior happens, I am forced to introspectively trace back what may have gone wrong, what may have triggered these reactions and events. I ask never ending “what-if” questions but could find no answer unless I really know what happened.

As a mom, I dread to have to go through these issues with my children.

I am at awe at the fortitude the parents of these children have.

For those who went through harrowing experiences, we share crying episodes here and there. A hug eases the pain for a while and positive words are exchanged in the hope that everything is just a phase the children have to go through and everything will help them become better persons in the long run.

I don’t think I am over-acting when I think about these things. At times I get too involved in the lives of my students be it minor or major issues that affect them and their families because no matter what, they are like my family too.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 15th, 2010 at 10:23 pm and is filed under behavior modification, Being a (Special Ed) Teacher, Challenge Yourself, Lessons in Life, My Thoughts, Parenting, special education, Teaching Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.