Serena

Once, when I was visiting P.S 96, I was partnered with a boy named Mawuli for the day. He was always so shy, and had to be prodded by the teacher to say anything. The teacher tried, but Mawuli never spoke more than one hundred words the whole time, and when the teachers asked, "Raise your hand if you had fun," the only hand which didn't go up was Mawuli's. It leads me to wondering how the teachers handle non-disablility problems, like shyness, and how they cope with them versus private schools.

Another time, at P.S 96, my buddy was a girl named Elizabeth. She sat at a desk all by herself and was a little bit... unruly. Even though she was sweet, she hoarded the beads used to thread a scarf to the elderly for herself, which might have been okay if she hadn't wanted other beads too. She then switched the attendence sheet on the board. This made me realize something. //10 people were absent that day.// Elizabeth was coming down with a cold as well. She also told me that people who were good and bad got the same punishment/reward: getting water. This also stuck me as strange because if the action is the same, could students be confused wether they were good or bad. She also erased the morning message the teacher wrote on the board. The teacher did not notice or comment on what she did, so the question again arises about diciplinary issues. Also, what happened during the day made me wonder how the teachers deal with smart people, as well as people who are failing a class. Is there a gifted program? In kindergarten it is unlikely, but the whole day really made me think about possible issues in schools.