Tortellini got in trouble at school for ditching class a few days ago. I immediately assumed it was because she was doing something with her friends, but it turned out she was in the bathroom fighting the urge to vomit and her teacher got mad that she was gone for twenty minutes. I'm sure she was probably gone longer than she needed to be, but it seems like the teacher may have overreacted. We talked to her about how if she really was sick she should have called home, and sided with the teacher even though we maybe shouldn't have. It's a struggle getting kids to respect authority. She had to go to detention, and she's grounded from the phone and computer (gasp - no myspace!) for the rest of the week (a little harsh maybe, but she'd be getting a little more slack if her grades were higher). Anyway, dealing with stuff like this is one reason I'm glad I'm not a junior high school teacher.
Or a high school teacher for that matter.
For some reason, I was reminded of the time my English teacher overreacted to something I said in class my junior year. The lesson was on oxymorons, and the teacher was calling on students to give examples. Various students gave the most obvious answers, "Half empty", "Tough love", "Bittersweet", etc. Then she got to me.
"Chicken Fried Steak."
She got mad at me for not taking things seriously. She said something to me that happened to be the catch phrase of a guy everybody called 'Beef' so I muttered, "Good one, Beef." Of course, I muttered it loudly enough for my friends to hear, which also happened to be a bit too loud. She heard me and freaked out.
"DID YOU JUST CALL ME BEEF!?"
There was really no way to deny it, even though I wasn't calling her that for the reason she thought I was, so I just shrugged. Needless to say, I was in trouble. Not enough trouble that they called my parents, but I did have to do extra assignments as punishment. (Which, now that I think of it, hardly seems fair. Make me clean chalkboards, or erasers, or scrape gum off the desks, sure, but making my grade dependent on extra work? Hmmmm.)
So, after remembering that, I now feel guilty for punishing Tortellini for a teacher's overreaction. (Not that I'll let Tortellini know that.)
8 comments:
Did you have the same problems with respecting authority?
Well, it's good to be too tough on them the first time so they aren't all, "That's it? I skipped class today..and that's it?"
:)
Trust me.
i remember in 8th grade, my science teacher Mr. Sanderson said to the class "ok everyone lets take a quiz". And because this teacher always came across to me as laid back and fun and I really liked him and his class and he'd known me for a while since he also taught me in 7th grade, I called out "lets not and say we did" thinking ha ha I'm kinda funny and he'll laugh too. Oh man he did not laugh. He sent me to the principal for disrespecting him. Thus ending my secret crush on Mr. Sanderson for good.
I kinda feel bad for her too.....
Was she nauseated after smoking some doobies in the bathroom?
aw, and all that stuff is why i love teaching middle school. they are truly, and developmentally, just like big toddlers, with zero impulse control, but they are so funny!
and i think that teacher totally overreacted. lame. your daughter probably felt mortified at the thought of puking in class. that being said, the teacher probably feels insecure about her teaching and like she has no control, and that she has no authority. crappy situation.
and i think chicken fried steak is totally an oxymoron.
Did you happen to go to Beaver High School? I laughed outloud with tears in my eyes when I read your experience. How are ya anyway?
My middle son says his english teacher is psycho. A girl in his class started to put on her jacket. The teacher yelled, "Take that off!" The girl said, "But I'm cold!". The teacher walked to the phone and called security. I think I agree with my son....she is whacked.
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