Spring Fever - Part Two

So it's official... the kids have lost it, and taken me with them.  

Here are just some of things that occurred, just today.

-The student I call Scatted was being annoyed by the boy behind him.  This is not unusual, as 6th graders enjoy annoying the people around them, but the kid was just breathing.  Apparently (when I asked later) the kid's nose was whistling, and Scattered thought he was doing it on purpose.  

He responds by saying, at the top of his lungs:  "Dude, stop it!  Duuuuuuuuuudeeeeeee, stooooooooop it!"  (he continued in a loop for about 45 seconds, while I stared incredulously, until I couldn't take it anymore. 

-One of my girl students told me that she had to go to the bathroom to take care of 'her girl stuff.'   I gave her a pass, but she said that she wanted to take her friend with her.  I said no way, and she pitched a whining fit, while I stared at her in amazement.  I finally stopped the fit, and told her she could go to the bathroom by herself or not at all, and she said never mind and sat back down.  (I can't wait to hear from her parents, since I didn't let her go to the bathroom, so I'm torturing their child).

-Two of my boys were fighting over my pencil sharpener.  Neither of them needed it at the time. 

-A girl asked me if she could have an extra day for the homework she was just assigned.  I asked her why she would need it, since she hadn't even started it and so she couldn't know she couldn't do it.  She told me that she just didn't want to do any homework tonight.

-The kids have stopped coming back from lunch at a reasonable pace.  I think this is more to do with the fact they're becoming 7th graders, but this is really annoying.  We have split lunch, so we have 1/2 of class before lunch and 1/2 after.  When they take forever to get back we don't have time to finish anything.  Instead, they dance their way back and then all force themselves into the bathroom.  I know it has to be a fire hazard.

And finally, they just continue to ask ridiculous questions, and since it's just time for a break, I don't think it's as cute, funny, or harmless as usual.  We need rest!

Or lots and lots of chocolate.

(For me, not for the kids.  No sugar for them, please.)

Apology?

We had an incident on the field trip this year that just amazed me.


After spending an entire day talking about what is okay and what is expected, the day should have gone easily, and we should have all just had a blast.


Instead, several girls took it into their heads to separate from their group (which they had not wanted to be in the first place, but since the group they really wanted to be in already had 6, it wasn't an option) and join the group they originally asked for. Since we had lots of parent chaperones, plus the teacher group, the largest group of kids was 6, but most had 2-4.


After the chaperone who 'lost' the girls looked everywhere for them for an hour or so, she called the teachers, a little panicky.


Eventually, we tracked them all down and got it sorted out, though it was accompanied by many tears.


The girls said it was an accident, so we brought them all into lunch detention to discuss the situation.

After we heard their explanations (all different of course), we then tasked them with writing a letter explaining and apologizing, so that we could decide what their consequence would be.


Three of the girls did it, and mostly their stories made sense, and they all said they were very sorry.


One girl, however, was different. Instead of writing what happened and how she's sorry, she yelled at the teachers.


From the letter (titled, "Apoligy Letter"), exactly as she wrote it:


"I have now realized that what I have done was wrong. From now on whenever I go on Field Trips I will never go off with another chaperon, I have learned from my mistakes! It's mainly not my fault though....."


She continues and explains what she things happened, though she apparently wasn't too sure and said different things in various places.


Remember, she had wanted to be in a different, already-full group. She denies this, however:


"Now dont get my wrong I DID like my group for the field Trip I wasnt complaning, but If I'm being honest in this letter than I will say this... When Ms. Language Arts Lady said that I was in ______'s group, I didnt like it but than I realizad that I should give her a chance."


That's sounds good, right? Well, it gets better. Apparently objecting to us remembering that she was upset when we formed her group, she goes on to say:


"So I did. And guess what! I was fine with my group!!! I didnt leave the group cause I didn't like who was in it, I left because I had permission! Okay?!! Now listen remember when me (and the other students who also switched groups without permission) had lunch detention? Well and you teachers occused me of not caring that I was in trouble well..... NEWS FLASH! I do care not If I didnt care then I wouldnt be writing this!"

I really don't understand why she was trying to get out of a punishment by yelling at the people she has annoyed... During the lunch detention, the other girls tried to explain what happened, and sniffed little tears, etc. She sat and positively smirked, smiled, grinned, and laughed, completely not caring as she had already gotten her way, and since she rarely comes to school, she knew she just would avoid the remainder of her punishment.

"oh also thanks For making me fell EXTRA Sad I mean I already fell bad as it is. When you teachers were talking to me in lunch detention I know that I didnt look like I cared but trust me I care a lot!!!! also I realized I could have got stolen! and I would want that to happen so....." (about 1,000 more periods)

Then she added:

"I'm SORRY" covering the whole last page.

Wow... We really didn't know how to take this. I know she was upset, but an apology letter should contain an apology, and most definitely not a tirade.

So the other girls got one more day of lunch detention for disobeying and putting themselves into danger, let alone scaring the chaperone to death.

She got two more days... one for the same, one for the attitude.

Heaven help the 7th grade teachers.

Oh, The Drama

Now, I love my students, almost all of them, and even the ones I don't love I love the idea of them, if not them as a person... Like, you cannot like everyone, but as long as you treat them fairly, it's okay.

(Wow, that was a confusing chunk of words. I guess I just mean I love the kids, but some I don't love.)

I particularly feel empathetic with the girls. If I were to chose to have one or the other as my particular student (for a group for a field trip, or something) it would likely be a girl.

Might be because I am a girl, I don't know, but I do know some of my other teachers (who are also girls) enjoy boys better, and then some male teachers who like one or the other, all for various reasons, so I guess it just depends on your personality, or your previous experiences.

But something I do not like about the girls: drama.

The boys do not go in for drama, usually. Of course you cannot just make a blanket statement, but mostly it's true. When boys fight, they hate each other, then smack each other, then they're over it, and are friends before boarding the bus in the afternoon, and hangout that night at each other's houses.

Girls do not do that. If things escalate into something so severe as a fight, it takes much, much longer, with much more drama than a mere punch or kick, to resolve.

Case in point, one of my team's best friend duos, never seen apart, always together, best buds, had a huge fight recently. Over, get this, the book one of the girls was reading.

Why did this cause a huge, painful drama? I still don't understand, but I do know they are now total enemies, who have drawn all the rest of the girls in their class onto one side or the other. They write mean notes to the other girls about each other, they call each other names, they ignore each other, etc.

They were best friends, but now they cannot even stand to look at each other, and now, instead of being far apart in the seating chart because of the possibility of them chatting, they're apart so they won't fight while I'm trying to teach.

Not all of the teachers on my team have the two together, to which I say loudly, "Not fair!"


Boys just don't do things like that.

I noticed at the theme park how calm the day was with just boys (we had five of them with us the whole day). There were no mean words (except for friendly banter), no sudden changes of allegiance, no worries about looking dumb, and most importantly, no tears.

Now, this is not to say the boys don't cry, because they do. They actually cry more than 6th grade girls, but boys don't cry over friend stuff. They just smack each other and feel better.

So while I do love talking to the girls, I am really, really tired of the drama.

In 6th grade, I guess because of puberty coming and the difference between boys and girls, the girls get down-right mean. They are mean to their parents, their best friends, their teachers, and with whomever else they have contact.

Now, because they still mostly are young and sweet, they will be mean to their friend (like, your shirt is UGLY and you're DUMB!) then cry about how they will be hated forever, and they're sad they're not friends anymore, etc.

As a teacher, I spend way too much time soothing their little conflicts. I don't mean to say they aren't worth it, and I know that it's important that I am teaching them how to interact with others.

But still, they didn't teach me this in college. They didn't mention I would be soothing tears because so-and-so called them stupid and said their shoes are too big.

No matter how many times I explain that it doesn't really matter what someone says, because it doesn't change reality (i.e., if you are dumb, then someone saying it doesn't change anything, or if you are smart, if someone says you're dumb doesn't make it so) I still have the same issues, and the same ruffled feathers to smooth.

I tired of it last year, but then I discovered this:

I love that poster. I sometimes just indicate the poster when they're obviously being silly, and not truly upset.

That poster has saved me so many words this year.

I love posters!