March SOLC–Day 24
A huge thank you to Anna, Beth, Betsy, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
twowritingteachers.org
It’s been a week.
At the end of a long day earlier this week, I told a student she needed to clean up under her desk. She suffers from materials mismanagement at the best of times, but on this particular day, it looked like her desk had exploded. Or maybe vomited. At any rate, she had managed to avoid the task once already, and I was not happy about the continuing mess and she was not happy about cleaning it up.
Grudgingly, she started picking up. A pencil here. A scrap of paper there. She stopped to chat to a classmate. I redirected her and stooped down to pick up a few things.
“I’ll help out,” I said. “Why don’t we start with the pencils and pens?”
“You know,” she pronounced with a snap, turning to look at me, “I hate to break it to you. But learning isn’t fun!”
I deposited a handful of pencils in her pencil bag. “Well,” I replied, “I’m sorry you feel that way. But even if you don’t think it’s fun, having a good attitude can make it more fun.” (Not my most brilliant comment.)
“No!” she said, not missing a beat. “That’s not true! You’re lying. You’re a liar.”
(I guess she didn’t think it was a great comment either.)
It’s been a week.
Nix the comfort zone 
Ugh. It bites when moments like this happen, especially in the midst of what already feels like a long week. I hope next week is better, hang in there!
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Thanks for the support and good wishes.
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Whew…those battles can take the wind out of a day pretty quickly. I love your “materials mismanagement” phrase! WHY can’t they do even just a little tiny bit better than they do keeping their desks clean? Maybe she will figure out that learning is more fun when you can see what you’re doing! Hang in there!
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Thanks!
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Ouch. You told the scene well, and the dialogue and parenthetical remarks got the full brunt of snark across.
Her dart hit it’s mark. I’m sorry you carried it. Good you wrote it. There are better weeks ahead.
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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Kids will say the most amazing things. Boo hiss to those negative comments. Kudos to you for trying to place a positive spin on things. Thank goodness Monday is a new day, a new week. Make it a great one!
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Thanks, Amy! Love the “boo hiss!” It made me laugh. (Conferences begin on Monday though…)
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Conferences…you got this!
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These are the times one needs a balanced life; life can’t be all about teaching. Fortunately, you have a rich family and friends and writing and reading life outside of the classroom. Feed the non-classroom MBH life and you’ll be ready for Monday!
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Thanks, Dan! I may have already told you this, but I’ll always remember your class discussion about how important it is to nurture your personal life when teaching. I don’t always remember to do that though.. But today we’re heading up to Orono to see our youngest in a concert and spend some time with the older two as well. Then it’s on to a week of conferences!
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The title of your slice drew me in. I thought your comment showed a lot of patience. I may have done much worse.
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Thanks !
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Hopefully writing about it made it a little better. Fridays are hard.
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She’s allowed to not like school. For some kids, no matter how much we care and what we pour into it, they just don’t like to be there. Sorry, honey, it’s a “have to.” And she shouldn’t call someone a liar.
Maybe she’ll feel better on Monday, too.
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Thanks, Fran. She runs hot and cold so I wouldn’t be surprised if she comes in brimming with enthusiasm on Monday.
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Ugh, that sucks. Your response was a lot nicer than I would have come up with, though, so kudos for that.
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