I am no longer known as Dan, I'm now known as MR. DAN!

It took 4 business days, but I finally got used to kids screaming Mr. Dan and that meaning I need to turn around so I can tell them "No, you can't do that." (That's usually what I have to say because when they scream my name it is usually because they're bored.) So far the job has treated me well. 90% of the children seem to be doing their work and I've finally gotten organized enough to where I can start looking at the files of some of the stragglers and try to figure out why they aren't performing as well.

So today I looked into one of the kids file. This kid seems to be a loner and bored with the program. He constantly applies chapstick and while most kids make 1,000-2,000 points a day, he usually hits 500-800. I looked into his file to find one of the most heartbreaking things ever. This kid has been bounced from Orphanage to Foster home his whole life and has depression, self esteem issues, mild retardation, sexual and aggressive behaviors. This kid has slipped through everyone's fingers to land in a class full of boisterous, behavioral disordered kids. I don't know what to do for him, but next week I'm devoting a bit more attention to getting him going.

Other than having a good first week I get to come up with something for the kids to do after they finish the program. (By spring break I will have 5-10 kids that have finished, and two months to fill) I was told they could just read or play a reading game on some of the computers, but most of the kids want to learn more. It doesn't seem that anyone has devoted attention to these kids interests before. Two of them want to become tattoo artists eventually. They bring in sketches for me to look at everyday and I tell them what I think. I've given them some pointers on how to get the proportions of the human body and skull right or what they need to get good at to become an artist as well as tell them stuff about tattooing they didn't know. (Different gauge needles, mixing ink to get new colors, styles of tattoo art, ect) Another kid wants to learn how to type faster and use Power Point, so I'm going to develop a power point training booklet and probably one for word and excel too, because if I don't help these kids out I feel like they will be passed over until finally they hit adulthood. Some basic knowledge of these programs can make their lives so much easier.

Now on a less serious note, today Wifey and I tried an experiment with the cats. We dunked each one into the bathtub. Slider just tried to find his footing and then walked like something got shoved up his cat butthole once he was out. Crash freaked out, with eyes wide and took off to immediately start licking herself dry. It was adorably entertaining.

Anyway I don't have much more to update. I've gotten some writing done this week. I've been dressing nice all week for my job. (Though I still don't like it) And I've watched some movies and played some videogames. Tonight Sal called in sick. Her throats been bothering her, so we're watching some "My Name is Earl" and eventually we'll watch "30 Days of Night" and probably play some Zak and Wiki later.