Increase Your P

I swear I am not obsessed with urination. So I am teaching students who to calculate thermal energy which in its most basic definition is the total of the potential and kinetic energy in a piece of matter. On the board we were representing kinetic energy as K and potential as P and I asked “How would the P increase?” An entire 6th grade laughed, as did I.

Really?

Sometimes it feels real good to be a teacher and simple things make my weekend. I have a prep during the last period on Friday and usually walk out with the students. As I was leaving a 6th grader asked me a question, but before we get to that we need some background on her.

She is super intelligent and very full of herself. But I have always felt that that self confidence is masking a lot of insecurity. “Beth” does all kinds of things to make her popular, she dressed incredibly, is very pretty and has no problem using her looks, charm, and style to make herself stand out.

Because of Election day and our Parent-Teacher conferences I have not had her class for a while and I have not given them their test grades back. Unlike my third grade test this one was very hard and the grade average was way lower than I would have liked it to have been. So as I was leaving Beth said “Hi Mr. R, have a nice weekend. Oh BTW, how did I do on my science test?”

I replied “I don’t remember but I am sure you did fine, I would have remembered if you didn’t do well?”

Beth “What do you mean?”

“Beth you are very smart and I expect you to do well and if you didn’t I would have remembered.” I said as I was getting ready to walk away from her.

Her face lit up in a huge smile and she said excitedly “Really?”

I replied “Yes, and have a great weekend Beth” and headed to my car feeling good that I made her day and maybe added some true confidence into her psyche.

The Soprano

Last year my school instituted a new policy where as every graduating 6th grader must do six-hours of service work in the community or school. It is a great program which teaches the children giving and gets me eager, willing volunteers

It is also used as a way to “punish” the children who have strayed(for lack of a better word). Well there is this one kid I will called Rob who is one of those kids that every teacher wants to strangle. This is going to sound so wrong, but he has so little to offer you just want him out of the school. He is not one of those troubled geniuses Or slower kid’s who you feel sorry for and want to help, even know they make your life hell. He doesn’t have a screwed up home life, he is just a kid with average intelligence but is a total pain in the ass. He is rude to everyone, both peers and staff. Well he was out of control during lunch recess for a few weeks and as a punishment (which was called a community service project) he stays in the lunchroom the period after he eats and has to monitor the unruly kindergarten students and first graders. The idea is for him to see what it is like for the lunch staff to try and control unruly kids like himself. The teachers love it because they get rid of him one period a day.

So on Friday he was doing his service project and one first grader with an attitude refused to line up. Rob, walked over like a big tough sixth grader and stood in the kids face and said “You better line up!” at this point the kid looked him in the eye and said “No!” and slammed his knee into Rob’s nuts. Rob fell over in pain and crying and the lunch aides ran over to him to see if he was OK. He was sent to the nurse and was teased unmercifully by his peers for the rest of the day.

I know this is so wrong, but I am sure that many of my peers cracked a smile when we imagined Rob on the floor crying at the hands of an unruly first grader. As long as he was OK, and he was, it was fitting.

The Chinks

(A few weeks back)

We were in teams making cars that were powered by rubber bands and trying to see whose card could go the furthest. I had one group of rather intelligent Asian boys working together. Part of their assignment was to come up with a team name and I overheard one of them say “We should call ourselves The Chinks.” I leaned in and said “How about another name?” and walked away and I overheard one say “Asian Pride” which would have been acceptable but not really the multi-cultural ideals we try to have in my school.

So when I asked them their team name in front of the class I was nervous and one blurted out “Walmart Security.” Where the hell that came from I have no idea?