Random Thoughts

As I have been writing today, I have had a lot of little stories come to mind. I don’t know that they all on their own need their own post. So I thought I would make a collection post.

Class Pet

My first year of teaching, there was a teacher down the hall that had a hamster or guinea pig. Great idea for a class pet. My students thought it would be great that we have a class pet for the resource room. Cause you know it is cool to have a class pet and we need to compete with the other class. I reminded them that they are only with me for at most 2 hours a day and that I was not going to be responsible for a class pet. They insisted that we still needed a class pet. We went round and round on this topic for about a week. Neither side was going to be giving up.

Well, one evening I happened to be in Wal-Mart or Target I forget now, and found a giant size stuffed frog. I bought him and took him to school the next day and set him on my bean bags. When my group of students that insisted on having a pet came in, they asked about the frog and wanted to know why I had a giant stuffed frog. Well dear students, you wanted a class pet, there you go. They weren’t thrilled but took it. They ended up naming him Mr. Frog. I to this day still have Mr. Frog. He currently lives at my house as I do not have enough space in my office to keep him.

Don’t believe him

At my first school, I had one particular student in 4th grade that I had known for several years before I had him on my caseload. J was one of those students that you really just couldn’t trust any further than you could throw him. You wanted to, but you just couldn’t.

On this particular day, I was taking his group back to class. We are at the cross hallway and he wanted to go to the bathroom. I said sure, make it quick as we are waiting for you. He came out, looking like he had been punched in the stomach. I knew there wasn’t anyone else in there so I was ready for what ever he was going to tell me. At this time another class was walking up to use the restroom ( a former teacher of his) and the building behavior coach waled up.

J looks at me and says, I don’t feel well, I just threw up.

Really J? What did it look like?

J: Just some white stuff.

Your fine get back in line.

J: But I left it in the toilet for you to see. I don’t feel well. I did throw up.

Behavior coach: Maybe I should take him to the nurse

He’s fine

Some how J con’s the behavior coach into taking him to the nurse.

Former teacher: You know he’s just faking it right? To get out of class.

Nope hadn’t figured tat one out yet…

Yes, yes I have

• had a child urinate not once but twice on the playground
• had a student growl at me
• come to school in uniform, slip out of the classroom and change into a Batman costume. No it wasn’t Halloween and he was a 3rd grader
• been known to have conversations while lying on the floor underneath a desk
• had to have a conversation with a male student about why we should make sexual comments to teachers and what is the appropriate way to talk to adults.
• had to call IMPD on a student
• have had parents “forget” to tell me that their child was in a residential facility prior to starting at our school. When asked about it mom says “Well I wanted him to have a fresh start”
• been asked if witness protection is a good reason for a student to have counseling
• have been told that a conference being scheduled for a student was this teacher’s Valentine’s Day present
• same staff member asks.. We are going to label him as autistic right? No- didn’t test for that. Well it will come out in the testing right cause that is what he is. Again no- not what I tested for. (Autism is not the first thing that comes to mind with this child)
• have seen a child carried like a football to get him out of the classroom because he was being such a disruption.
• Same child is perfectly fine in my room. Though in fairness other students in the room were throwing airplanes and calling me every name in the book