One Reason I Love Substitute Teaching

Yesterday I met a kid with O.D.D. (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) How do I know that? He told me. Subbing at an unnamed location, he refused to comply with a simple request several times (I asked him to return to his seat; he was bothering somebody who had also asked him to leave), which actually warrants a discipline referral (aka D.R.) Before I actually called the office, he had told me it was taking him everything within him not to yell in my face.

After school he came up to me as I was walking to the parking lot, and said, "How was I rude?" I explained that 1) he had refused to comply with a simple request which warranted a call to the office, and 2) he had reported he was resisting the urge to yell at me. He had no argument but proceeded to explain that he had O.D.D. (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). Here is what he told me about it.

"I am hard-wired to do the exact opposite of whatever someone is asking me to do," and, "Sarcasm is my default mode of response, and that's what was going on."

I thanked him for the information and then asked if I could give him a hug. He looked surprised and said, "Yeah...if you want to."

So I hugged him and he hugged me and I told him I thought he was a neat kid. This is one of the reasons I love substitute teaching.