FAIL Stamp Here, Please.
Seriously. This was the funniest fail of… at least a few years now.
Most of you know that I’m a teacher. I teach 5th grade – 10 year old little twits. I adore it and them. Don’t get me wrong, but we all know 10 year olds are twits.
So…
This year’s group has been a rowdy bunch. Lots of ADHD and more than a few others issues. They hated each other at the start of the year. Constantly were bickering, tattling, bitching, whining, complaining, and backstabbing each other. It wasn’t fun.
I decided to take matters into my own hands. I taught them how to deal with their own issues. We’ve worked hard at building unity and that class is now one of the most cohesive I’ve ever taught.
Go me. Success.
Sort of?
Today, it backfired on me horrendously.
The kids have had issues with their PE teacher for some time. Issues I understand. He’s a bit of a power-tripper, has his favorites (including his son, who’s in my class) and tends to pick on certain kids all the time while others get away with bloody murder.
They whined, bitched, complained… and finally wrote a letter to the principal, asking for a meeting. They got it. He, myself, the kids, and the principal all sat down and hashed out a plan that all of us agreed would work well.
It did.
For a week.
Then he rescinded the plan and reverted back to his typical behavior. I kept telling the kids to just wait it out, he’d go back when he saw that it wasn’t working the old way. He didn’t.
So… all that to explain what happened today.
They all, together, unified to the last child (including his own son) walked out on him. The just up and walked out.
*groans*
I got called up to the office and actually asked: “Why are you teaching these kids to solve their own problems?”
o.O
It’s a life skill.
Aww! Damn it, what you did sounded like such a good idea. I’m amazed that they all just walked out like that. When I was ten there’s not way I would have been as smart-assed as that. But seriously, I think what you taught the kids was way cool, even if it kinda backfired…
Look at it this way.. It got you what you were tried to do at the start. They became unified… Maybe you should teach on DI.
When I was in my first year of highschool we had a very horrible English teacher. Eventually, her and I got into an argument about plagiarism, and the whole class got into it. Long story short, only half of the kids walked out with me. I’m going to have to give those kids kudos – that’s simply amazing. I can’t even imagine how you taught them, because it’s not math, or english, or something concrete, but inadvertently the ideal of rebellion as a tool of expression, and at such a young age. Those kids have more stones then high schoolers =P . *thumbs up*
Wow …
I can see why this would be troublesome for you in the short term, but I can’t help but being impressed by the kids and that you have taught them something valuable for the future. For a class just bickering internally at the beginning of the year, It’s damn impressive to show such cohesion so as to just stand up and walk out on their own annoying teacher. If that’s not a clear sign that he’s not working out, I don’t know what is.
I think you should be proud … quietly proud that is, in your own private chambers where no other school personnel can hear it.
.
Empheba
You did the right thing. Good work.