Here is another chapter from my "Final 40 days in the Classroom" book. Add some humor to your day! Day 25 - May 20, 2013 A Visitor in Room 719 Something crazy happens today, as I am teaching from the front of the room. The class is quiet and all is going well. The students are engaged in the lesson, and I can see their cogs turning as they are processing what we are discussing. Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Levon jumps up and screams, grabs his backpack off the floor and runs to the back of the room. This of course, causes several other students to react in the same manner, and they too jump up, scream, and take off in various directions. Before I know it, some of my eighth graders are out in the hall, peeking through the crack int the door, and trying to figure out what is going on, and a few have jumped up onto the tables. I know what has happened, as this is a classic reaction of city kids when a bug or mouse has scurried across the floor. I’ve seen this before. And I know what to do this time. I instruct everyone remaining in the room to take a deep breath. I allow the kids who are in the hallway to stay there for the time being, as they feel safe. Why move them back into the classroom? I’ve got enough to handle. I ask everyone to pick their bags up off the floor and put them on the tables. I know from the past that if I can clear the floor, this process will go much smoother and faster. Then I instruct everyone to curl their legs into their bodies, and rest their feet on their chairs. Then we all take a few more deep breaths together. “Levon, what happened?” I ask as I walk near him. He is standing on a chair at this point. I’m trying not to die of laughter, but instead, remain professional and caring. “A huge-ass bug just walked across my shoe. It violated me!” he screams. The class bursts out in giggles. They are not laughing at him, but with him, because most would have reacted the same way. “Where did it go, Levon? Which direction?” I pry. He informs me that it ran toward the wall on the left, so I go over to investigate. I finally see it. It is a gigantic waterbug, about 3 inches in length, with a crunchy outer shell and spindly legs. It’s black and blends in perfectly with the linoleum floors. I simply say, “Oh yes, it’s a waterbug.” But I think my students hear something more like, “It’s a dinosaur,” because the three closest boys jump up and freak out. Two take off across the room, and one makes quick to a nearby chair. Jason, the boy on the chair, throws his pencil at it, causing it to scurry closer to a group of girls. They freak out and curl themselves tighter into a ball, squeezing their eyes closed. “Jason, that wasn’t a bright idea. Please don’t throw objects at living things.” I remind. The bug is moving closer to Ron, who jumps up and tries to stab it with a chair leg. As you can imagine, this doesn’t work either, and now the bug is on the move. I am trying to close in on the waterbug myself, but every time I get near it, I hear a squeal from across the room or another student dashes out into the hallway to make a clean getaway. I quickly assess the situation at hand: 5 students are in the hallway, 7 are on either tables or chairs, and the rest are curled tightly into little balls. Out of nowhere I hear Valerie stomp across the room, voice booming, “What’s wrong with you boys? Step on it!” And in a matter of twenty seconds she has followed the bug’s trail, moved a bookcase, and stomped it dead. The class erupts into applause, lauding Valerie as the hero who saved everyone from our visitor in Room 719. The bell will ring in 5 minutes, and there is no point in trying to continue with the lesson today. I get everyone back into their seats and try to explain that proportionally, we are so much larger than bugs and mice, and that we need to try and remember that for the next time. I know my attempt is falling on deaf ears, as city kids have a really hard time coping with nature in general. I took them on a picnic to the park once...but that story is for another time.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 11:09:13 +0000
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