Morning Naps

We have a chronic sleeping child in our class. After weeks of "letting him sleep" because of his "medicine," I have come to the conclusion that (1) I'm not sure if it is completely his medicine, but instead him using his medicine as an excuse for getting out of his work and (2) he will not learn what he needs to learn in 5th grade and be prepared for 6th grade if we just let him sleep through the morning lessons.

There have been only a few days this year that he has stayed awake to join us (probably less than I can count on one hand). Yet, there have been many days, while trying to coax him to wake up, we've seen an eye pop open here and there to check our location... not as sneaky as he thinks he is. Unfortunately, there have also been many days where he's not faking it and I'm sure he's actually fallen asleep, because no one is there bothering him to wake up (I know I could fall asleep if someone left me alone for 5 minutes with my head down)... but Ms. B and I cannot constantly go back and forth convincing him to stay awake - especially when he's so defiant and causes so many problems when it's not his way. We have too many students who have needs in our class, it's impossible for one of us to focus ALL of our attention on him.

We've been looking for, asking for, thinking of strategies to try with him to keep him awake in our class. The past few days I've tried to pump him up with encouragement and expectations from the moment he walks in the classroom. We've started by telling him our expectation that he stays awake. Today, I told him I knew he'd be able to because he came in "wide awake and full of energy" (as he does everyday, I just pointed it out and used it against him). I also made a point to show him excitement for his work and encouragement for every little task at hand. (I wonder how long I'll be able to keep this up before I get exhausted or distracted by other students.)

This battle is a bit frustrating for me. I know he's on medication, and if it is indeed the medication, it's unfair for him to miss out on class. Yet, I think he has a bit more control of the situation and uses it to manipulate his way out of work. ...Why do I say this? Because anytime we have a special activity, like our Rosh Hashanah activity, he chooses to stay awake. For that activity, he had warning. After about 15 minutes of his morning snooze, I informed him (in a stern voice) if he didn't wake up and participate in class for the morning, he would be missing out on the Rosh Hashanah treat. Guess what Sleepy did? Woke right up and participated as a 5th grade student all morning long. Which then makes me wonder what bribing him with food would do to keep him awake...? I think it might work, yet I feel it's not the best option... I want my students to want to learn. I don't want to be manipulated and twisted around a finger of a 5th grader. I also know he's the type of student who would brag and rub it into the other students that he got a treat and they, even with their un-bribed great behavior, got nothing.

Who knows, though, I may let him manipulate me if it means he's awake and learning, but for now, the non-material/bribe motivation worked for 2 days... I wonder if tomorrow will be a third. Oh, and randomly back to the expectation thing, I wish his parents and other adults in the past didn't let him know the medication was an excuse for sleeping through class. I feel this is why he's been able to use it as a manipulative tool. I even asked his mother if she could explain to him that his medicine shouldn't make him that sleepy... just to see what would happen (obviously the expectation for staying awake has worked for two days - what could we get if we convinced him of our expectation hand-in-hand with parents, teachers, and other school adults involved). Mom is fine with using it as an excuse... as was his teacher last year... as is the admin... Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not going to use it as an excuse, especially when I've seen that he is able to wake up and participate in class. (Excuses from students and the acceptance of excuses are a major difference between these kids and ones I've worked with in the past. Some people find it easier, for them and the students, here to let kids have their excuses, when really they need to be pushing the kids past those excuses and onto learning.)

And on a side note, I wish I were on medication to make me sleep through the morning... I'll just let Ms. B run the show on her own. My lack of sleep lately has made me so incredibly tired. My eyes are completely bloodshot (2 days in a row now), I'm almost scared they are going to go on strike against me. Or pass on the medication, how about a button to shut my brain off for a good night's sleep!