One More Chance

Author: Amanda Goodwin

Over the past couple of weeks of service at my preschool site, I have come to realize that there is one kid in particular I need to keep my eye on. He has a lot of energy, seems to struggle with paying attention to instructions, and lacks body control. Today, during his violin lesson he was particularly rambunctious. 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to have him and the other boy I called to have a lesson share a violin. I decided to let the more well-behaved boy use the violin first. However, the energetic child was trying to be either too helpful with helping the other boy find rest position or he got excited and couldn’t wait to touch the violin and pluck the strings.

When he grabbed the violin that the other boy was holding and I had had enough. I reminded him that grabbing an instrument from another student was against one of the big rules we had for using a violin. I told him that I thought he needed to go back to the classroom without receiving his turn with the violin. He got very upset and begged for one more chance. 

Against my better judgment, I decided to allow him one last chance, but I made it very clear to him that I would not accept any more misbehavior. After that, he straightened up so well! It was a huge surprise. I was proud of the way he turned himself around, and I let him know that as he and the other boy returned to the classroom after their lesson. I’m hoping that — as long as I keep an eye on him — he might be able to greatly improve his social-emotional behavior. I really believe that as long as he has someone to redirect him when his behavior is proving to be a challenge and give him a chance to do better, he will definitely be able to gain self-control.