Looking for the "Something Good"

   Yesterday was a pretty tough day, as school days go: three IEP meetings (one of which lasted two hours), missed sessions (and therefore upset kids), a trashing of my office followed by a restraint, and a sexual abuse disclosure.  It kind of sucked, frankly.
     But I've noticed that even when a day has been filled with extremely difficult issues, there is always at least one little something that will make me smile.  Yesterday it was this note slipped under my door:

     And in this way I was notified of "The Great Boot War of Room 303."    
     After I showed a few people the note and stopped chuckling, I thought about how this student---who is on the autism spectrum---would have handled a similar conflict when I first met him last spring.  He would have had an absolute screaming fit.  He would have hit Naya (who obviously started it, with her space-hogging boot).  He would have been sent to the office and likely suspended.
     But now, he asks his teacher if he can write me a note telling me what happened.  He was still livid, but he didn't do any of those completely out-of-control things he would have done a year ago.  And more importantly, he seems to trust that I can help him feel better and we can solve his problem together.
     I have a blackboard with this quote on my office wall, "Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day."
     Don't forget to look for the "something good."