"Hi Mr. Homework!, YES, we have Mr. Perry! Hurray,
Grandpa!..."
I know kids will sometimes say things without really
thinking about it. In some cases it may be unintentional, ignorance or cultural
differences about what "is" and "is not" acceptable when
addressing adults. I even know of one substitute teacher who prefers to be
addressed as "grandpa" by his students.
The class must have realized from my body language that it
wasn't an acceptable nickname by me as the class went suddenly quite. I've been in this class several times this
year and I know it was not intentional.
I could have ignored the comment but the initial class
reaction was much the same as mine so I felt I had to address the issue. Without
singling out any particular individual, I addressed the class:
"There are only four people living on this planet that
can call me 'grandpa' and none of them are in this classroom. So let's get to
work and have a fun rest of the day"
As we finished the morning lessons and the kids filed out
for lunch, one boy came back into the room and apologized for his outburst. He
meant no disrespect but immediately realized it didn't come across that way. I thanked
him for coming back to apologize and sent him on his way.
It takes guts to face up to your own mistakes. I think this
kid will do 'ok' in the future.
1 comment:
Wow! It is awesome that you had a student apologize to you. I really enjoyed reading this post! I look forward to reading your blog more as I will be a new substitute teacher this year. I am hoping that I am able to deal with any issues that arise in the classroom in a simple, professional and absolute manor (like you did) when I am substitute teaching.
-Shyonna
www.shyonnasays.com
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