Sometimes I am called upon to step in and help diffuse a situation happening in a classroom.  Yesterday that happened again.  A student who was bothering his classmates needed some help.  This was someone who had had trouble complying with rules and expressing frustration appropriately when he arrived at the shelter.  He was having trouble again yesterday. 

After leaving the classroom, I had him cool down while sitting in a chair near me.  After a few minutes we talked.  He said he was angry and why.  He told me what he had done to his classmates to tell them he was angry.  We figured out what he should have done differently to tell his classmates he wanted them to stop.  He said he’d try that next time.  In the world of counseling and school, it was textbook stuff for learning social skills. 

As we walked back to his classroom, I marveled at how much he has learned about how to express himself in positive ways when he is frustrated or angry.  I thought of the people (counselors, house parents and teachers) who have coached him and modeled this for him. 

As we entered the classroom together, he apologized to his classmates and sat down in his seat.  Class continued. 

A little miracle in the midst of a busy day.