I haven’t posted in a while, there just have not been any funny stories. But earlier today I remembered one that happened right before the New Years break.

I was standing in the hallway talking to a second grade teacher as the kids who need extra tutoring arrive early. This little boy who is the funniest kid comes walking up to us. He is a short little pudgy kid, he is some kind of Hispanic and is in ESL. His English isn’t the greatest and he has a bit of a learning disability, but he works hard. He says “Mr. W, I got money for the booty”I asked him what he said “I got money for the booty!” I was so confused so I asked again “Got money for the booty!” I asked with fear in my throat “Gabriel, what is the booty?” He replies like I am an idiot “You know the place where you can buy gifts for your mommy for Christmas?” I try to hold back a laugh “Oh you have money for the boutique?” and he says “Yeah for the booty.”
Out PTA was having a pre-holiday boutique full of knick-knacks and stuff and he had brought money to buy something. And here I was wondering which of hos classmates booty he was buying?

So “Tom” comes into my room last Friday with a wrapped box and hands it to me. I thank him, and a few minutes after he leaves I open it so I can write him a quick thank you card before the vacation starts and well lets just say the contents startled me

I am not much of a whiskey drinker, actually I hate it. But I still love the thought. I mean I have gotten wine, even got a bottle of wine with the students picture on it. But JD brings it to another realm.

I was working with a fourth grade class and we were looking at insulators and conductors. They students were working in groups of three and each group had a battery, light bulb and socket and three test leads with alligator clips. The assignment was to have an open circuit and the students would put various items between the test leads to see which items were insulators or conductors. They were all moving around and working well when I heard a boy shout from the back of the room in a real burn-out accent (whatever that means) “Don’t taze me bro!” and he was holding the electrodes towards his chest. His team mates laughed and I laughed inside and they went right back to work.

Yesterday towards the end of a class we were cleaning up and a little second grader turned to me and said to me “Do you know who my girlfriend is?” Never sure how to handle these things I just said “No” and went to move on to the next thing.

Now this little boy is super smart, has a ton of personality, and just enough spunk that I like him. I am not a big fan of the angels. Plus the fact that the best looking staff member in our school (IMO) is an aide in his room I was fearful he might say her and I would slip and say something like “Good job”, or “Lucky guy”, or “Damn I’m jealous.”

So a few minutes later we are lined up and he says his girl friend is Gabrielle from High School Musical and he dreams about her. I never saw it but I know it is super popular with the kidd. I looked it up tonight and found a picture of her and when I clicked on images I found a nude photo of her.

All I can say is “Damn kid you have good taste and I am going to have dreams about her as well tonight.” They may be different than his dreams but they will be dreams nevertheless. Oh and yes I checked her age, I am a pervert but not sick for having those thoughts she is almost 20.

A week or two ago one of our more mature sixth graders took another sixth grade boy and grabbed him (he was consenting) and took her hand on the back of his head and kissed him deeply. From what I heard this was no little peck on the lips, the lunchroom aides broke it up and since it was breaking some disciplinary rule she wrote it up and asked the two students to write what happened.

I saw what they wrote and the boy said he never kissed a girl before and he liked her so she kissed him. As I read it the assistant principal turned to me and said “I bet his little boys parts were happy for that kiss.”

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.

Last period yesterday about 20 minutes left in the day and two boys ask to use the bathroom. I send them on their way and continue the lesson. The come back pretty quickly so no harm, no foul, except when they return Randy tells me “Mr. R there were two boys from Mr. B’s second grade class and they were peeing all over the bathroom.” I ask if they knew who they were and they said “no” so I called Mr. B’s room and a substitute answers, which is never a good thing. I ask the sub which boys just returned from the bathroom and she says she doesn’t know their names. I ask her to send them to me, and they walk in. One looks at me with a look of horror and unable to speak, the other just walks in. I ask Randy which boy or was it both and he tells me which one it is. So I ask the boy why is he here and he stares at me and says nothing. I then ask him if he knows why he is here and he nods and I see his eyes well up with tears. I ask him if he thinks what he did was wrong and he nods and starts crying. Right about then his teacher is walking by and asks what happened “I said I was told what happened but I want to know if it is true and Timmy won’t tell me.” He tells me he will follow up with it and takes Timmy and the other boy back to the class. I ask the the two boys that witnessed it to write what happened so I could give it to the classroom teacher and assistant principal. I got their statements and here is an edited version.

I was in Mr. R’s class and went with Frank to the bathroom and when I walked in the boy from Mr. B’s class starting peeing all over the toilets, then he turned around and peed on the radiator, it was disgusting.

It reminded me of being in my early 20’s in Brussels and walking around and finding their most famous statue

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.

Doing a lesson on volume and how matter cannot be in two places at the same time. “Class, what happens when you get in the tub?”
Mary ” You sink”
Me “Excellent answer, what happens to the water?”
Eric” The water turns gray.”
Sorry I had to laugh

I finally got around to getting my Van De Graff generator working again since I am going to be teaching static electricity next week. The famous trick is to have a child hold it and when it cranks up their hair stands on end. The kids love it and it really gets them engaged in the lesson. I was testing it with some fifth graders and when they were done they would touch me to shoot a shock at me. I could discharge them another way but they like it and it doesn’t bother me. Well it didn’t until yesterday. Sandra stepped off the stool after he hair stood on end and she was losing her balance and reached out to grab the desk that I was standing next to her. I went to grab her and I saw a blue spark shoot out of her hand and right to my pants zipper. The way I was “dressed” today meant that the spark hit me right on the tip of where no guy wants to get shocked.

I will now discharge the students another way.