First week of class - 1/2

Folks -

I've tried posting this three times, and it just disappears.... I've broken
the message into two parts, in case somehow a page of text is *just too
much* for MSOE to deal with...

Folks -



Whew, I finished the first week! I've got 4 sets of students, and a group of

drop ins....? One group was like herding cats.... I should have been so

lucky...? After the first week my "view from the front" is that about 40% of

the students have some motivation, about 40% range from being dark, cool and

withdrawn, to only having a benign interest in learning; the remaining 20%

is split between kids that are really interested, and a few real trouble

makers - sometimes the same kid...



As for a "crisis of the week", I had a group of 'drop in' kids - they work

for about a half hour during their lunch... and when they all left I noticed

that one of them had just tagged the class door with spray paint.? I

followed them all out, asked who did it, and of course, nobody knew.? I then

said that the lunch work period was voluntary on my part, and that the shop

would remain closed for lunchtime work until the responsible person came

forward.? I had the kid clean up the paint, and told him I may make him

paint the door....?? I've reconsidered that tho'? - I want to be more

constructive... maybe making some push sticks.