Is it possible that a child can be beyond salvage at the age of 13?
There is a boy in Year 8 who is a persistent issue for the school. He comes into school, which is a minor achievement, but when he is there he basically refuses to learn. He disrupts lessons, goes walkabout, winds everyone up and generally sticks two fingers up to school, teachers, adults and society. Why?
I bumped into him today as he had been sent out within minutes of a lesson starting. I said I would sit with him and he disappeared. On the surface, he was playing the hard man. Underneath, he was a boy who was upset because the teacher had not listened to his request to sit next to a friend who helped him settle down and concentrate. It was fascinating to watch. Another teacher who knew him happened to walk by. We got him back into the class, he asked politely to move next to his friend, the teacher said yes and he behaved himself for the rest of the lesson.
A small victory BUT he will drop out and end up in prison or dead because no school can dedicate the time and effort needed to turn kids like him around.
