In recent days, my students have given me many laughs, some of which have revealed much about the innocence they still possess. Below are a few of the events that occurred this week in my classroom.
"Poorest Dad Ever"
I must preface this conversation by saying that the school where I teach is in an upper middle class suburban area. Although I wouldn't say these kids are all "privileged," most of them (with the exception of a small percentage) live a very comfortable life. What follows is a conversation that occurred between two students having lunch in my classroom as a reward for having excellent behavior, work ethic, and making great choices.
Student A: "My Dad was the poorest person I know when he was a kid."
Student B: "Really, why?"
Student A: "I mean, they were so poor. They only had one car in their family. And they had like this really big yard and no toys in it, and like this huge garden on the side. And every afternoon and weekend when they were home they had pull weeds in that whole space. . . I mean it was like this big (motioning with hands. I mean they were so poor that the parents had to walk to work because they only had one car and the other parent had to use the car to take the kids to school"
Student B: "Wow, that is poor"
"The Latest Nutritional Guide"
One of our science units is studying food chemistry (yes, they expect ten year olds to understand the chemical make-up of food and how those chemical components impact your body and health when you eat. . . along with algebraic equations and functions). I was teaching the kids the difference between macronutrients and micronutrients. My first "wake-up call" came when I tried to relate "MACROnutrients" to a MACK truck. They were clueless as to what that was, and the only "mack" they could think of was the one McDonald's sells. The next "wake-up call" came as we were discussing which nutrients fall in the "micro" category.
Me: "We already established that one of the groups of micronutrients is minerals. What do you think the other group is?"
Students: Insert in here several wrong options
Me: "Okay, let's think about it this way. In regards to food, and the food groups as we discussed yesterday, we tend to group two sets of nutrients together. We always say blank and minerals. Who can fill in the blank?"
Student: "Oh, the blank is rocks."
Students & Teacher: Hysteria breaks out!
"Mean Teacher = Well Behaved Students"
On Fridays my teammate and I do something called "Fun Friday." This is time of games or outdoor free play for those students who have had excellent behavior, work habits, and completed all classwork and homework for the week. While those students get to participate, the others remain inside in what I like to call the "Think Tank" where they complete unfinished items or reflect on behavior. Yesterday was my day to have the "Think Tank" while my teammate took the others outside. Those students in her room that had not earned free play came into my room. The following occurred.
Student A: "Miss Holloman is mean. I can tell. Just look at how well behaved the students are."
Student B: "I know"
Student A: "I hate Fun Friday."
So, there you have it folks! Just another week in the adventures of Fourth Grade! Who doesn't love ten year olds!
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