One particularly aggravating moment came when, during a standardized test (prepare yourself for a ranting post about this sometime in the future) one girl was confused about the word "punctuation." I'm not really allowed to clarify anything on a test because...well...it's a test. All she really had to do was figure out which sentence had the incorrect punctuation - which you can do without knowing what punctuation is, and which we do every single day in class - but she was so caught up on the word "punctuation" that it was totally hindering her progress.
And speaking of this girl, she's been giving me LOADS of attitude lately. Today, during our test, she wanted a drink, but it's a timed test, so I said, "No." She pouted and said she wouldn't finish her test unless I let her get a drink. I told her I'd let her get a drink when she finished her test. After that section, we were moving onto a different section and I noticed her desk was clear. I asked where her book was, she said it was on the floor, I asked why and she said, "because you wouldn't let me get a drink." I looked at her - a bit shocked and bewildered by this latest in a string of manipulative attempts - and said, rather forcefully, "So?!" When lunch came around I said, "I'm tempted to take away your recess today. Go ahead and go, but if I don't see some serious attitude changes by Monday, you're going to have some problems." She said, "I just won't come to school Monday." I said, "Fine. Don't come." I can see that we may be butting heads for a while. She's used to being able to manipulate people that way, but I won't take it from her. I think it's throwing her off - which honestly kind of makes me laugh.
On a more positive note, and as an ending to this rather long diatribe -
Today we were doing a comparison activity. As an example we were comparing Barbies with casserole and I asked what they had in common to try and get my kids to think outside the box a little. One kid said, "They both have bad taste." Yes, one of my very own students made that up. They may not always be the brightest, but sometimes they surprise me.
7 comments:
Good luck with Miss Attitude. There are days when I miss working at a school so much, but then I remember those types of kids. When I read about your student, I actually imagined one of my student's faces.
Can you insult your students? I mean its usually a "no-no" anyway, but you can kind of get away with it in the upper grades. Students with Attitude usually feel my biting tongue after a few run-ins. I'm not saying I don't feel guilty afterward. Just saying it happens.
At the risk of offending someone, or everyone for that matter, it sounds like most of your kids are going to grow up to be contractors. But that's another story for another day. And I'm pretty sure, a story that at this moment will seem to have fallen straight off of the random tree and hit me on the head.
One day I did imply that this girl was being a complete brat. She ended up crying. I think, though, that she's learning she can't get away with manipulation in my class. To me, that's progress. :)
I had a GWA (girl with attitude, duh) once, and she said similar things: "I'm NOT doing this!" So I silently picked up her project and threw it away for her, to save her the trouble. She came back the next day with her project completed from home and a much better attitude.
Also, I've been brainstorming about Barbie and casseroles and have gotten very in depth, dealing with socioeconomic changes in middle America throughout the previous century, etc. Send me more brain exercises.
That kid who said they both have bad taste...smart, smart kid. He/She's going places.
As for the girl, I'm kind of enjoying picturing the two of you folding your arms defiantly in this little power struggle. Fun. :-)
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