funny moments.

so disciplinary/life-impacting/dramatic/serious moments at school happen. it takes everything in my heart not to crack up laughing at the whole scene when observing from the outside in retrospect. today 6 of my sixth grade boys had a little squabble on the soccer field.....turns out that when electives teachers don't show up for their classes, it's the teacher's responsibility (mine!) to cover that class....so in pe....they play....that's all they do. i don't plan pe...i don't execute pe. anyways....that's another hilarioty (and that's not english, i know....just chill, 'k?)

okay....so they had an issue while playing....one said a very bad word....becasue he was angry that the other guys were teasing him....one comes to tell on him for saying the bad word (but he FORGOT to tell me that he had instigated the whole affair....so of course, i call the kid over; he's PISSED....i mean, really mad. told me that the other guys had been teasing him about a girl.... but that he wasn't doing anything...he does'nt like the girl...blah blah blah. so we talk about the error of his ways...not to react with words like that, even when angry....la te da.....but the explanation from him is of course half in english, half in spanish...primarily because he's furious....not necessarily becasue he can't speak english....

so i call the other culprits over.....sit them down in a line....and ask them what happened...of course NO ONE knows or has the SLIGHEST clue why they are being taken AWAY from their soccer game and lined up for questioning....here's the story of my life on a daily basis: they're all sitting there looking innocent....then half start yelling in spanish and the other half start yelling in english...all at the same time...explaining why this one did that who did the other thing FIRST...and maestra, yo no hice nada....ni se que paso...nada mas se que estaba riendo...pero nada mas...no es mi culpa....emmanuel hizo este, este, y este....and on and on and on and on it goes....all talking at once...no one taking the blame...just explaining why it wasn't THEIR fault.....so finally, after listening for too long, i said, "so no one did ANYTHING....juan's just mad...and that's it?" then everyone starts saying WHAT everyone else DID do....but no one actually did ANYTHING themselves...then they all start arguing and the ones who were previously speaking english are now going back at it in spanish...

and i'm just watching...listening....then we switch back again with some starting in on english....and finally i cut them off....and we go through an explanation in english...then i realize that two of them are in outer space becasue they're understanding every seventh word that i say...so i switch and give the same lecture in spanish....and we go from there.

it's really hilarious. really. and this is every day of my life. discipline is a chore....for more reasons than one.... least i have a sense of humor, eh??!!!??