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Tag: detention

Let’s let limericks supply lighthearted lessons

Let’s let limericks supply lighthearted lessons

Kids typically arrived at detention weighed down by a myriad of issues.  In addition to their arrest charges, they often faced challenges stemming from poverty, unstable home lives, problems at school, and limited knowledge of or access to available resources. BY NANCY KIDD gatherthegoodblog@gmail.com While they were in detention, we tried to provide a positive environment.  Although we knew we couldn’t “fix them,” we hoped they might learn something to take with them when they left—academic or otherwise.  We tried…

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School’s draw helped Andrew show signs of brighter days

School’s draw helped Andrew show signs of brighter days

Andrew* was a challenge. His behavior wasn’t rude, aggressive or violent. He just refused to come to school. BY NANCY KIDD For reasons unknown to me, Andrew chose to stay in his room rather than participate in the school program. That meant he could not join the other detainees for recreational activities, special programs or group meals. He was alone in his dreary cell — a thin vinyl-covered mattress atop a raised concrete platform/bed and a stainless steel toilet and…

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Dream job developed when all signs pointed to ‘no’

Dream job developed when all signs pointed to ‘no’

BY NANCY KIDD Like many of the kids I taught in detention, before I first walked through the door, I never, ever dreamed I’d end up there. And once inside, just as many of them did, I found myself wondering, “What in the world have I gotten myself into? Is this a dream?” It’s funny how life sometimes unfolds in unexpected ways. After college, I taught for two years but then moved back to Champaign-Urbana to be near family and…

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Detention kids gain lasting wings with ‘Birdie Song’ surprise

Detention kids gain lasting wings with ‘Birdie Song’ surprise

BY NANCY KIDD What do you do …  when you’ve been hired to teach 10- to 16-year-olds with a wide range of backgrounds and abilities at a juvenile detention center? When you don’t know until you walk in how many students you’ll have based on who was arrested or brought from court since the day before? When none of them are happy to be where they are? When they appear lethargic and unmotivated—likely focused on their own personal, serious situations?…

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