Ben started the class expressing his frustrations regarding a new teacher of his. I tried to help him by saying things like, "the teacher means well", "he's got to get to know you", "it's almost the end of the year", "You are able to get through this with some positivity". He did not want to hear me, he just wanted someone to validate his feelings. I understood where he was coming from but also tried to encourage some resilence - which he is capable of.
Today we had MAPS math testing. Ben was ready for it. He told me he would try his best. It took him a while to get started. The room lighting, the font, the screen brightness were all factors in delaying his start. Eventually, we got there. He asked if he could work the problems outloud and I encouraged him to do so. It was really wonderful to hear his thought process as he worked the problems through. He's extremely bright. He got through only 4 problems during the class period, but he did them with intention and I am pretty sure he got them all right so far. I thanked Ben for working hard and told him I was proud of him.