I love my little coworkers..but .it's hard keeping up with 14 little people who are proving day in and day out that common sense truly isn't that common. I want to share some little anecdotes of things you'd be shocked I've had to actually explain to the students.
1. Hitting someone in the head with a ball hurts them- I had one kid just today...whip a big exercise ball at another kid's head and when the kid started to cry seemed...genuinely confused. I had to explain that hitting someone in the head with a ball is actually only fun for the one person...and that if you want friends..it's not a game that you want to play repeatedly.
2. Play-doh, Kleenexes and paper are not a food group. I've had to explain this concept to several of my students. Paper found on the ground or name tags taped to the table are not actually free food laying around. Also...putting play-doh in tissues and chewing on it isn't a good substitute for chewing gum. Surprise surprise.
3. Hiding a toy in your pocket does not make it invisible-One of my personal favorites. When I ask a student to put a toy away because it is distracting... and so I watch him walk it to his backpack...stuff it in his pocket and then walk back with a guilty look on his face....with his hand stuffed in his pocket. Oh my little children...I see you..
4. The teacher only has two hands- I have about 10 students begging my attention at one time and sometimes I will say...could you count my hands... They will say two and I will ask if they both are busy... I tell them I would love to help them...but right now I physically can't, so if they find something that they can do without help and wait until I am free to come to them...I will
5. It really doesn't matter if you are first in line- I would think being first in line to go from recess back to the classroom would be the worst position, but they fight over it like crazy. Pushing and shoving to make sure they stay the first ones back to the classroom.
6. If you fall down, it doesn't necessarily mean you are hurt- I have kids who are running and fall down and start screaming and crying and then after a little while..you help them up and brush them off and they realize that they really weren't injured at all. There is not a scrape on them. Falling down...doesn't necessarily equate injury.
7. Hiding Under a Table or Rolling Yourself into the Carpet as a Burrito Does Not Make You Invisible-Believe it or not...the carpet lump is in fact noticable.
8. If you don't use words, no one can understand you- I have many kids who can cry on cue for dramatic effect. I have to explain to them that though it gets our attention, we have no idea what they want or what happened unless they actually use words, so until they are ready to do that...no matter how hard I want to, I cannot help.
9. A story about one time your grandpa took you fishing...is not the correct response when asked if you have any questions- So many times if I ask students if they have any questions...I get these long stories about something that has nothing to do with the matter at hand...thank you for letting me know your mom likes the color red...but that has little to do with our craft of making a santa claus.
10. If you want to get away with forgery, don't forge the teacher's name and then give it to said teacher. - My favorite all time common sense lesson was when a child wrote my name in crayon on a signature line and then turned in the paper. HMMMM...
So there you have it 10 little common sense lessons...that my students are learning.or have learned so far this year...
No comments:
Post a Comment