that little rustle ...

     I was reminded yesterday that a few words can make a big difference.
     Neo was getting his morning off to the usual start -- wandering around the room, talking to his friends, and not doing any work. I pulled him off to the side for a quick talk about why he comes to school. To learn, he promptly replied. I asked him whether he knew why he didn't sit with his friends in class, and he did.  It was a quiet, quick talk, and then I sent him back to his desk.
     Throughout the day I marveled at Neo's focus. He would even gently chide his friends to quiet down and listen. He did his work. He did need reminders now and then, but the attitude and effort was much improved. Today was another quite good day.
     Is that little rustle I hear the sound of a new leaf being turned?
     Oddly enough, I'm seeing a less dramatic but also positive trend with Dimples. While he still mouths off from time to time, and flat-out refuses to do work on occasion, he has begun doing some math assignments. He needed prompting to work on a constructed response this afternoon, but I walked away for a few moments and came back to see that he had finished, on his own.
     Gotta hand it to my students for making better choices. : )