Detention Center 07/02/14 10:30am - 12:00pm/1:00pm - 2:30pm

Finally got back to the Detention Center. I was happy to see mostly new faces, which means, I was happy to see that most of the students I saw before have moved on to less restrictive environments and hopefully are doing well and staying out of trouble. There was one female student who I recognized from past visits. When I said that I was surprised she was still there, she responded that she had gotten out, but got in trouble again and was sent right back. She giggled when I mentioned the revolving door affect. She seems very bright, has no problem with the workbooks, she is respectful, and always participates in the games. I do not know her story, so I am trying not to judge, but it is a shame she keeps coming back. The students were well focused and pretty much stayed on task. I was able to help a little bit with some questions, but for the most part, we watch. When some of the kids looked tired and distracted right before lunch, I posed a question to the group. 'Why do they think education is important?' One boy's answer was communication. He went on to say that learning and receiving an education helped us communicate better with peers and employers making it less difficult to gain respect and employment. This was a great answer. I will be going back next week on Tuesday and Thursday and I hope to interrupt workbook time for a short time and pose another question that might help these students realize why they doing all this work. Really I hope to hear some answers that show me these students are independent thinkers.