#9

I wish I could have spent more time with 9. Throughout the year and more than just one year. She is one that I was worried to have in class. Although I had never heard of her before, she had three letters next to her name that make any teacher shiver: ODD. Oppositional Defiant Disorder. A fairly new, but commonly used term to describe a defiant kid. 9 has had a rough life. Her father died when she was 5 and her mother basically left her in the care of her grandparents (or great-grandparents) at that point and didn't show up into her life until this year. 9 is a horse girl. She works in the stables and rides in shows on the weekends. She also owns lots of dogs. The unfortunate part of having all these animals is that 9's house is not clean - and she smelled. Like dogs and horse stables.

The beginning of the year was tough. It seemed she already had some built in nemeses and she was quiet and rough around the edges. Although she never really got a group of girls within the classroom, I did see her forge some friendships with some of the boys in the room. She also had some good friends out on the playground, with whom she will hopefully be placed next year.

9 also struggled with math. She was one of those kids who sits right on the fence between the overgrown weed-infested lawn of laziness and the dirt-covered plant-barren lawn of a learning problem. I have been thinking about 9 lately and wishing I had had her tested. And possibly 18 and 8 too. There is always something that holds me back from testing too many kids. And I was dealing with 7 and 4 for most of the year so the ones with less severe issues took a back burner. I have decided that in the future, I am going to put in for any kid that I have a question about.

Around March the school nurse finally had a talk with 9 about cleanliness and hygiene and it made some very noticeable and positive improvements. She seemed happier and brighter. I saw a sense of humor and an ability to deal with other people's faults without being harsh and mean. Her whole personality changed just from feeling better about herself and probably from getting more normal reactions from other people. Another lesson learned - deal with hygiene problems as soon as you notice them. And don't always listen to the letters labeling students' names.