Whenever I give spelling tests I try to add a wee-bit of humor to the day. Sometimes I’ll have students think of and blurt out different nouns, and then I choose one and use it in the sentences that I say with each word. Other times I’ll pick one student and have that student doing strange things in each sentence. And still other times I just say whatever wacky thing happens to pop into my head.
Today I went with my off-the-cuff, whatever pops into my head routine…and baby I was hot! I had ‘em in the palm of my hand. And let me tell you, it’s not quite as easy as you might think to keep a room full of nine and ten year olds in stitches. Well, maybe it is, but never the less, I was on fire.
I looked down and “gown” was the next word. Of course the first thing I think of is wedding gown. Before I knew what I was saying this sentence popped out of my mouth.
“At my wedding, the gown looked great on me!”
And everyone laughed.
However, just as the laughing was beginning to die down, a tiny voice from the corner of the room squeaked out these words,
“Mr. A, are you trying to tell us something?”
And the room completely fell apart.
Just when you’re thinking about taking your act on the road, you get taken down by an unruly 4th grade heckler.
Sometimes teaching can be brutal.
2 comments:
This really is sort of off topic here but here goes. From your blog, it appears you work at a public school. Do you worry about all the allegations of misconduct (sexual and otherwise)against teachers so frequently in the news? I'm a college sophmore with a major in education. It worries me a bit. I mean you can do everything by the book (which also scares me on some level) and still be blamed for something you didn't do. I guess I'm wondering how you do the dance between really caring for and about your students and taking care of yourself.
Thanks.
Janie
PS Great Story!
Jamie,
You’re right, it is a delicate dance, but at the same time it’s not that hard to do. To tell the truth, I almost never think about it.
I mean I keep my guard up and simply avoid doing anything that would ever put me in an awkward situation. My first principal told me to never be alone with a student. It’s kind of like never playing with a loaded gun. If you never do, then you’re never going to accidentally shoot someone.
It there’s anything I keep on my mind it’s his wise advice. However, don’t let it scare you, just let it keep you safe.
Also, take comfort in the fact that those kinds of allegations are not as common as the media would like you to think. I’ve been teaching for 14 years and in all that time there has only been one case of this kind (that I am aware of) in my district.
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