>> I like the rougher students [laughs].
So I-- I really enjoy watching a student totally having a lousy day then sitting down with them
and them seeing me not get mad at them and then slowly just through watching what they're doing,
then slowly changing what I'm doing to kind of wrap around them a little bit,
take some time off from the curriculum a little bit; what--
what is it that's bothering you right now and why are you upset?
Well da da da da, and they'll give you a situation.
Okay and you just work with them a little bit.
Alright, so can we do this now and we can talk about this later
or do you want to work on this now?
Just give them choices, but two choices I want but choices.
And when that turnaround happens that's my favorite part.
So when they kind of go from ick to at least I got some of it done, you know,
it doesn't have to be a total success but some success is good.
So I kind of like those; I like the harder stories.
I don't, you know-- Helping students get past the emotional issues, I think,
is just as important as academic issues because if a student is worried
that when they go home their parents aren't going to be there they're not ready to learn.
And if a student is worried that mom is so agitated at her job that all she does is scream
at home or that dad is not going to be there, they're not--
they don't care about their homework at that point.
So being able to make a student feel comfortable enough, safe enough to be in that kind
of an environment and let them be heard it really does help when I can let them know
that I understand what they're saying, I know where you're at,
so we can talk about these things, but at the same time slowly kind of try
to redirect them into the academic.
If you're worried about where your meal's going--
your next meal's going to be who cares about math so it comes out of that.
That's my drive.