Confessions of Guilty Students, Part Two

The same day as I had my little guilty student confessing to property defacement, I had another student hand me a folded up note, looking miserable, as soon as she walked in.

I looked at her, then looked at the note, dreading reading the contents myself. Usually, when students present me with notes, they are from their parent telling me why he or she cannot do what I have asked them to do.

Here are some examples of actual notes from parents that I have received.

• "I'm so sorry Ms. Language Arts Lady, but I threw away her project. Could you please give her full credit? I saw it, and it looked pretty good."
• "I told him not to do your work, because I thought it was not important, and I didn't see what he was learning by doing it."
• "I looked at the work, but since I couldn't figure out what you wanted him to do, I couldn't help him, so I just said don't do it. Please forgive him."
• "She had a softball game so she couldn't do the work."
• "I know my son is failing your class, so I need you to raise his grade. I don't think he is showing that he doesn't understand, so it's obviously something that you're doing as you grade. Please update his grade immediately and send me the new percentage."

So I just knew this note would be a doozy.

I opened it, and I saw it wasn't from her parents, but from her. I read it. In it, she confessed, in very dramatic, very apologetic words, that she lied to me, and she's so embarrassed.

I told her that I would think about it, and what I wanted to do, and get back to her. She slumped off, looking miserable, and went over to her little friends, who looked miserable with her, and patted her.

I, meanwhile, wanted to laugh.

Here's what happened:

The day before, I had thought she was chewing gum, as she was chewing something. I called her up and asked her what she was chewing, and she told me it was her tongue. I told her to stop chewing her tongue, as it looks like she was chewing gum, and if she was caught chewing her tongue again, she would receive the consequence for chewing gum.

Now, I knew she had been chewing on something, for I saw her. I figured, however, that she was a really good girl (she is) and she wouldn't lie to me, so I accepted her answer. Other students would have been questioned more deeply.

So her telling me she had been chewing gum made me think that I wasn't losing my mind; she had been chewing gum.

In her lovely note, she tells me that she did the most embarrassing thing ever, and she lied to me. She tells me she will never chew gum in school again or lie to a teacher. She mentions she is wiling to accept any punishment, and she knows that it will take time for me to trust her again.

I am thrilled by this note. It shows that her conscience (and I have a sneaking suspicion, her parents helped) punished her far more effectively than I ever could.

So, I asked her to stay back after class to talk. I felt like an executioner, as all of her friends looked like I was a horrible, mean teacher, and they all lined up to hug her, and whisper things in her ear.

(What on earth did they think I was going to do?)

Before I said anything, she was crying. I hate when they cry pitifully.

I talked about how I was disappointed to find that she had lied to me. However, I am thrilled that she has come forward with the truth like this. I told her how happy it made me that she was so truthful to confess, since she had "gotten away with it." She sniffed as I talked.

I told her she was not going to get any further consequence, since she was so honest, and she had come forward on her own. I did ask if writing the letter had been her idea or her parents (her parent's idea).

I also told her that I didn't think any less of her, since she admitted her mistake, and was willing to work to correct it, and to STOP WORRYING, since I am not mad at her.

So I sent her off to lunch, sniffling, and into the arms of her waiting, sympathetic friends.

She survived the evil teacher.

I am, apparently, very scary.

Oh, well.