There is something about letting a student know that what are doing is out of kindness and love without using words. To show them that you care about them even to only get involved when it’s for their safety is something. But, sometimes, you have to use their words and, though it’s pretty rare for me, go into a monologue of suppressed anger and annoyance.
Let me explain…
Now, I don’t teach Grade 10, but I do get myself involved when I have to. This past week, my colleagues and I had to deal with a student who decided to tell on us because we stopped him from getting his way. Now, personally, I don’t know what happened and the information was only relayed to me. But I learned enough to give the student a little talking to. He tried to justify his actions by saying “They wouldn’t leave me alone”, but I was beyond done with his entitlement.
So what did I say?
Well, would you believe me if I told you that I recited Wanda Maximoff’s monologue from Doctor Strange into the Multiverse of Madness?
You have no idea just how reasonable we’ve been. You don’t see that we do this because we care about you. And in spite of your entitlement and arrogance, I have begged you to show us the same respect we show you. You have exhausted my patience. So, I do hope you understand. That even now. What’s about to happen. This is me, being reasonable.
He thought it was funny, but he wasn’t laughing by the week’s end. You see, the teachers and I had a plan to show me that his entitlement has consequences. We just ignored him outside of the classroom. We would talk to his friend, but not to him. They would grade his paper, but not explain anything to him. I would joke and play with the students, but I wouldn’t engage with him.
Eventually, he caved and told on us, but the principals were made aware of it. Moreover, they were even in on it, including his mother. In the end, he asked to talk to me and begged me to talk to him so I did. I explained that we only gave him what he wanted: To be left alone. We talked about that and I ended with a quote from another movie: “We talk and yell because we care. You should be more concerned when we stop talking to you.” Let’s hope that my words sink in.
Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, 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 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 113. Seriously, I wonder how many books I’m going to have read by the end of the year.
