March 2020 SOLC–Day 9
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org
It was the end of the day and the general packing up chaos prevailed in our classroom. Kids were stacking chairs, grabbing homework, and picking up.
“Hey, P., your backpack is leaking water!” R. shouted across the room.
There was a sudden silence as all eyes turned to P.. and then looked down at the water trail across the carpet.
“Oh, no!” P. said, throwing his bag down and plopping onto the floor beside it.
With dramatic flourish, he started pulling out snow pants, his lunch box, hat, gloves, etc. They were all wet. Dripping wet. Then he pulled out his water bottle and looked at it in amazement.
“The whole lid fell off!” he cried.
Knowing that buses would be called any second, I walked over to help.
“Let’s see how bad it is.”
I looked into the bag. It didn’t look too bad.
“I think most of it already got soaked up,” I said. Then I turned the bag over to shake out the remaining drops so we could pack everything back up. In an instant, a veritable flood of water poured out over my foot and onto the floor. I had utterly misjudged the situation!
P.’s jaw dropped and he looked up at me open-mouthed. Next, we both stared at my dripping boot in the middle of the huge puddle spreading on the ground. Then, after our initial stunned silence, we both burst out laughing.
“Well, I guess that takes care of that, ” I said.
Quickly we crammed his items back in his backpack and he zipped it up just as the bell rang. I shook the water off my foot. We both glanced again at the puddle on the floor and then walked out the door to the bus circle, still laughing.
Nix the comfort zone 
I’ve found some of the most heartfelt student laughter comes from accidents that befall us in the classroom. There’s something very humanizing about seeing your teacher struggle, even in a small way such as dumping water on your foot. I’m sure he’ll remember that one for a while. Thanks for sharing!
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It was fun sharing this moment with this student, especially since he’s been having a tough time lately.
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This is a beautiful moment. We should all be reminded to laugh at ourselves and the absurdity of life’s littlest moments. Thanks for the giggle.
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I don’t know if I would have laughed as much if it had been Gatorade! Feeling thankful! lol
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I am sooo glad P has a teacher who can laugh with him at situations like that. Kudos to you for that response-it could easily be a moment where frustration takes over. You’ve obviously kept your ‘cup’ filled with joy, laughter, and patience!
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Not so sure about the patience level right now, but this moment was just so ridiculous to me that I couldn’t help laughing. I totally brought it on myself!
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This is a perfect mentor for a small moment. You capture the before, the during, and the after, each with their own small vignette and emotion, seeming to stop time as you connect the dots. Well done!
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Thanks!
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Way to make the best of a situation. You took the lead in handling the issue and didn’t make it any bigger than it needed to be… not always easy in the chaotic moments of dismissal!
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Dismissal is NOT my favorite time in the day.
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This is probably one of those moments that P. will ALWAYS remember. Forget the lessons you have taught him, but “Hey, remember that time all that water spilled out of my backpack and went all over the teacher’s foot?”
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I’ll certainly remember it and will look a bit more carefully next time! lol
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Some days laughter is the only way to handle it all. I’m so glad you are not one of those teachers who would scream at the kid, as if he has some kind of control of the situation. I agree with Leigh Anne, the incident is already “fading into an adventure” (one of our family’s favorite expressions.)
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“fading into adventure”–what a great expression! Is there a story behind it?
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Sometimes all you can do is laugh. So glad that humour is what dominated this situation. To be fair, in my mind’s eye it *is* pretty funny…
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It was pretty funny! 🙂
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You have painted your scene so well, I felt like I was with both of you. Great writing and laughter! As I read I knew you both were going to crack up laughing. I chuckled. What a great role model you are for your students! I also know how chaotic getting ready for dismissal can be. Do you have first graders? I agree with others that P will remember this adventure for a long time. Thank you for sharing a scene in your day and laughter.
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I used to teach first graders, but this is my fourth year in fourth grade. This particular student needs a lot of help getting his stuff together to get out the door, so anything that derails him is a call for immediate assistance!
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I understand. I used to teach special education. Molly, such a great post!
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Thanks!
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What a great moment!
On Mon, Mar 9, 2020, 7:45 PM Nix the comfort zone wrote:
> mbhmaine posted: ” March 2020 SOLC–Day 9 A huge thank you to Two Writing > Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and > a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow. > http://www.twowritingteachers.org It was the end of the day and the” >
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It was pretty funny 🙂
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