I had a moment in class yesterday when I almost lost it. I did not do anything untoward outwardly, but inside my head, I was screaming, "ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME???!!??"
After we had come back inside from recess, one of my boys at the center table kept asking me if he could go drink water. I kept telling him no and reminding him that we had just gotten water upon reentering the building.
Add to this that I am growing increasingly frustrated with my class because they don't seem to comprehend the incredibly simple problems that I have them working on (in pairs, even!) from the textbook.
So I'm over at the desk of one of my other boys, who apparently has severe ADD, and whose medicine that he takes after lunch doesn't seem to kick in before the end of the school day. I'm leaning on his desk, talking to him about one of the math problems that the kids are working on. As I'm talking with him, the boy at the center table says, "Mister Teacher, can I go drink water?"
Still leaning on the desk I'm at, I say, "Listen, if you ask me that question again, you will lose your recess for next week." At this point, the whole room has stopped what they are doing and are listening. I continue with my whole spiel about bringing a water bottle to class if they want water throughout the day, that we just don't have the time for everyone to go down the hall and drink water whenever they feel like it.
Right as I finish my talk, the kid sitting at the desk where I am says, "Can I go drink water?"
I literally SAW myself picking the desk up and throwing it across the room. What I actually did though, was just push myself back up to a standing position and walk to the doorway, breathing deeply.
After a few steps, I felt I had collected my composure again and I announced that apparently this boy was the first to lose his recess for next week. Except that as I said the word "recess," I accidentally mispronounced it, and it came out as "resex." As soon as I said it, the little voice inside my head said, "Well, THAT doesn't sound right."
Right as I was making this announcement, Ed U Cater walked in. I stepped out into the hallway to talk to him, and the first thing he said was, "Do you realize you just said resex?" I replied, "Yes I do, but I don't think THEY did."
All I know is, I am SOOO thankful it is the weekend. This first week truly seemed like 3 or 4 weeks packed into one.
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5 comments:
Amen. i told my 7th graders not to ask to use the bathroom unless it was an absolute emergency. The reason is that the bathrooms are very far away and unlike the other classes that are on block shedule and are 1 1/2 hours long, my science class is only 45 minutes and i dont have a minute to spare. So i finish my powerpoint on procedure and stuff and ask for questions, and i'm not kidding, 3 hands go up and they all want to go to the bathroom. I took my bathroom pass, threw it into my big science desk, locked the drawer and told them i would not be taking the pass out till late next month. This is going to be a long year..but i wont let them steal my joy. =)
ARGH. how frustrating. I have done that breathing thing before too....walking out into the hall and leaving them because I will break out into vituperative rantings if I don't get them out of my sight for a few moments.
Just FYI, they aren't any better as teenagers. I know, shocking.
Your students have an odd way of saying that: "Can I go drink water?" I've never heard kids say that before...mine have always said, "Can I get a drink of water." Also, how can one of your teachers have 41 students??? Is that the maximum allowed there in Dallas? I know here the max for 3rd grade is 25 students.
Ben, I work with second language learners, Spanish is their primary language, so they say things "oddly" all the time. They often use the word "tell" instead of ask or call, so kids will say that they "told" their mom if they could go on the field trip or that another child "told" them sissy.
The cap here is 22 kids. How long that teacher will have 41 kids, I don't know, but it's not intended to be permanent.
I feel your pain. A few years ago I had a student who's last name was Schmidt. I'll change her first to protect the innocent so we'll call her Jane. One day, instead of saying Jane sit - I mixed up her last name and my wish and said Jane sh*t. The kids all went "oooohhhh" and I simply chuckled and said oops myself. I'll never forget that story.
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