There was no way I teach these kids without laughing at their antics. There are so adorable when they are being…well…kids. But there was a situation that took all of us by surprise. Spoiler alert! I tried my hardest not to laugh as the event unfolded at the time. Actually, I’m still trying not to laugh as I type this out.
“Some people are in such utter darkness that they will burn you just to see a light. Try not to take it personally.”
― Kamand Kojouri
See, I have a student that’s basically me in my younger days. I had to deal with bullies on a daily basis because of numerous reasons. But, instead of doing what I did which was telling on them and, if nothing was done, I would set it up to where EVERYBODY got a taste of my anger. Bully got defeated and humiliated, the teachers would do better at responding to such an ideal, and the principal would be in hot water with their bosses. Nope, this student of mine had a completely different way of handling his bully.
It all took place in the course of an hour. The student has always been a reserved student. He’s the type of student that was quiet until he was called on. He speaks and he’s quiet again. And, apparently, another student of mine thought that made him the perfect target.
The bully would erase everything that the reserved student would do on the board and laugh as he got a reaction out of him. Even when I would hit the rewind button, the bully would do it all over again and laugh. He was clearly enjoying what he was going to the reserved student. That was until the class ended.
As I was giving out stars to my students (it’s the reward system at my campus), I refused to give the bully stars which made him cry. In fact, I took the bully’s stars, divided them among the other students, and left it at that. The students left the class and, then, as I was cleaning, I turned to the sound of a *pop* and a cry. I ran to see the bully on the ground crying, my CTs (Co-Teachers) huddling around him, and my reserved student walking away. I think you can figure out what happened.
They wanted to punish my reserved student and I immediately objected to it. They stressed the importance of nonviolence and I countered with the importance of teaching our students to be contributing members to society – a menace. Then, I made one thing very VERY clear to the bully and the CTs. “Don’t expect a victim to stay a victim forever.” This was something I always teach anybody I’m around.
Any-who, we managed to squash the situation and the boys apologized to each other. But, I bet that bully learned his lesson. Or, at least, I hope so.
Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and Fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2020. My goal is to read 106 books this year and I’ve completed that goal. However, I’m far from done with the challenge and I’m probably end up reading 120 before the year is out.
