my class, the good, the bad, and the tattletales

Seating Chart:
“Teacher, why do you always sit me next to the girls?” Chad looked earnestly up at me Monday morning.
“Did I put you next to a girl?” I asked, and then I looked down at him, “You know I believe it is because you are so good and quiet…and you behave.” With that he shuffled over to his desk, he was in fact sitting next to only one girl…not two or three…just one…and since 98.9% of the time Chad is unconscious in my class…you would think that it wouldn’t really matter where he sat.

Punishment and Listening:
I used to punish my kids by making them write sentences…but that really doesn’t make them not want to do what I told them not to…they know that all they have to do is write ten sentences and then they would be home free…no I had to come up with something to get their energy out…something that would literally make them so tired that they wouldn’t be able to move.
It was actually very simple, laps. I make my kids run laps when they get an “X” on their listening chart (that means that they haven’t been listening)…one “X” equals 5 laps, two = 7 laps, three = 15 minutes in the corner (which they hate), and four = a one way trip to the principals office, plus a call to their parents. We usually only get to warning number three…but oh it is so funny…they are always like “Teacher, we like to run! It isn’t a punishment to us.” I keep telling them that only time will tell…there will be some day in the future when running back and forth on the field will actually be a REAL punishment. Well today since they wouldn’t listen during reading I made them run for 25 minutes…back and forth across the field their chubby little legs took them. They would run back all out of breath and ask me how many more…and I would always tell them… “I haven’t told you to stop; you will run until I say, Stop.” They were very tired by the time we got back to the classroom…they listened very nicely during handwriting, spelling and phonics…but they weren’t so good in the afternoon.

Never leave a Man behind:
To understand how much my kids love to run, you would have to see them during afternoon recess. When I am down on the field with them we have races. Yesterday they were running their punishment laps…which included falling laughing to the ground and gasping for breath. It was so funny to watch them all run off to complete there five laps…even those that didn’t have to run laps were running laps…cause they find it so fun. It was about 1:15 when it started to rain…big fat rain drops hit the ground as my students screamed and ran back to the room. Out on the field I noticed that Danielle, one of my students had fallen and wasn’t getting up…you have to understand that Danielle craves attention…so usually she isn’t really hurt…she just wants me to carry her back to the room. I ran out onto the field and as I neared her I called out “I never leave a man behind!” and scooped her up and headed back to the classroom. I paused to yell at T.M, who had pinned Kota to the ground. Another wail erupted next to me…Veronica had stepped on something sharp, she clung to my right arm, while Danielle clung to my neck and I held her up with my left arm. Tears poured down Veronica’s face, but she was happy once I put a band-aid on her foot and “kissed it” to make it all better. Danielle was fine…all she needed was some more attention.

Telling:
Like most small children, my students must tell. They must tell me all that happens in our classroom…I am beginning to think that they believe that I don’t have eyes or ears and can’t hear or see the things that happen in our classroom. Rest time is the hardest time for my students. You would think that it would be very easy for them to put their heads down and just rest. But no they must move their desks back and forth on the cement, or draw in their notebooks, or talk to those next to them…there are a number of things that my students would rather do during at this time. I am reading to my class from The Chronicles of Narnia, we just finished the first book (The Magician’s Nephew) and are actually on the second chapter of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Anyway as I am reading I can hear all that is happening in the classroom, I can hear every slight noise…some movement I ignore…but there are times when I will just snap out and firmly say “Kota, stop and put your head down.” The movement will stop and I don’t even have to look up from my reading. But there are times when someone isn’t doing what Teacher has asked them to do and they see someone else not doing it either and will come up to me and interrupt my reading. One of my students that does this all the time is Trumaine…he must tell Teacher at all costs what his fellow classmates are doing…nothing will stop him from telling…except teacher.
I will be reading along when I can sense that there is someone standing next to me. I look up and there is Trumaine. “Teacher, look…Wolfgang isn’t doing what you asked. See he is drawing.” He will always say this in an important manner…blinking a lot and looking at me. I will end up thanking him for the information, but then I remind him that in order for him to see that Wolfgang wasn’t following my instructions he would have to be disobeying me as well. I will look back at the book and continue reading…then I hear a chair scooting back…before Trumaine is half way to the front of the room, I pause and then firmly, but nonchalantly state “I do not want to know.” And then continue on reading. I hear the chair scoot back into proper position and the room is quiet for all of 2 minutes. There are times when I tell my students “If you are not seriously hurt, or the person that you are telling on in no way can or has hurt you, I do not want to know. If they are disobeying teacher there is a good chance that I will catch them doing it and then I will punish them.” But they usually don’t remember that I said that and will come running to me with the urgent voice and say “Teacher, look at….”