Z and the Horrible, No Good, DST

The time change did not agree with Z, one of my favorite homeroom students. Because Z requires self-contained classes, I only get to see him in the morning, but I always enjoy those few minutes. He gets to the room a little before the other students, and it is then we usually have our most interesting conversations.

"I want to throw my iPad out the window," he told me a couple weeks ago.

"Okay!" I answered, "Let me do it for you." And I opened the hopper window next to him and slid his device between the glass and the screen. Then I locked the window. There was no way he could reach it.

"No!" he said, "I want to throw it out to the parking lot!"

"We can't" I shrugged, "because of the screen."

"Oh," he sighed. "Then can I have it back?"

"Are you going to follow the directions?" I asked.

"I promise!" he told me, so I gave him back his iPad.

And that's how it is with him. When he's looking for a fight, you have to bob and weave, like this morning.

"Snatch my iPad," he ordered me, "just snatch it away!"

"Are you g-r-u-m-p-y, grumpy, from losing an hour?" I asked him. "Because I am!"

In response he removed his shoes. "I'm going to the bathroom," he told me, "and I'm going to throw my socks in the toilet!"

"Go ahead," I answered, "but then you'll have to wear wet socks all day."

"I'm going to eat my lunch!" he threatened next.

"If that will make you feel better," I nodded, "but you will probably be really hungry later on."

"Then I'll sit on the table!" he said.

"Too bad that's against the rules," I reminded him.

"Call my mom!" he cried. "Just call her!"

"What will I tell her?" I asked.

"Tell her I'm coming home!"

"But nobody's there to let you in," I said, sympathetically.

And so we continued, until he finally agreed to go to the clinic where he laid down to try and get back that hour of sleep.

My School Slice for the Day

Here's what I posted to my class writing challenge today:

Today I'm going to try something new. As a special thank-you to everyone who has gone the extra mile and posted and replied to this writing challenge, I'm going to put a little puzzle into my Slice of Life. If you can solve the mystery and tell me the answer tomorrow, you will receive the reward of a Jolly Rancher! That's quite a prize, eh? (I'll also post a clue to every slice today, so keep checking.)

Here's the riddle: There are 25 in my slice; one is missing. Which is it?

And as the slices came in, I provided the following clues:

It’s not you.

It’s not why.

Are is not it.

Gee, no.

It’s not, eh?

It’s not the eye.

Oh? No.

N NO

See? No.

K NOT

Tease there

So’s z

Andy

4Fs

Mmmmmmmmmm

It’s naughty.

J’s in jolly.

So many els

X? Present!

What about you, dear reader? Can you solve the riddle?

Royal Role Model

We saw Black Panther today, and my favorite character was definitely Shuri, who is King T'Challa's younger sister, and a scientific genius in charge of all the king's technology. With a job kind of like Q's in James Bond, Shuri is also hilariously irreverent and a determined warrior when necessary. My students love this movie-- one of them called it, "the best movie that landed on earth!"-- and how awesome is it for them to see a young, gifted, assertive, successful, black, female character who is just a few years older than they are?

And technically? Since Marvel Entertainment is wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company, she's a Disney Princess, too. 

Uncle

I like to think of myself as a very healthy and hearty soul, one who soldiers on even in the most trying of times. BUT... after a whole box of tissues and when the saline, neti pot, ginger tea with honey and lemon, breathe-right strips, peppermint shower gel, and even chicken soup had reached the limits of their effectiveness, I gave in and took a sick day from work, hoping that rest might activate the other remedies and finally clear the congestion in my head and chest.

I hated to do it, but I have to admit, I do feel better.

Ask a Librarian

A student walked into after-school study hall in the library this afternoon with an open can of Coke in his hand and sauntered over to a table near where I was sitting. His confidence momentarily disarmed me. Have they changed the rules since the last time I was here? I wondered. It really hadn't been that long, but I guessed anything was possible.

"Are you allowed to have soda in the library?" I asked him, with genuine curiosity. Even though I have worked in the same school for 25 years, it was well within the realm of possibility that I could be out of the know.

He looked a little confused. "I think so."

I raised my eyebrows and shrugged in an exaggerated I-don't-know-about-that kind of a way. "You better check with them." I pointed at our pair of librarians, primly seated side by side, at a table near the checkout desk.

To his credit, he went right over. "Can I have this in here?" he asked, hoisting the can.

The alarm on their faces confirmed my suspicion (and made me giggle).

"No!" said the first.

"Not with all the books and the computers!" added the second.

I couldn't see his face, but it must have been filled with dismay.

"Sorry," they told him, gently, in unison.

He tossed the can in the trash and came back my way. "You were right," he sighed.

"Yep," I nodded. "Let me know if you need any help on your homework"

Let's Stay in Touch

My wife teaches social skills for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and one of her kids, William, has warned her all year long that the telephone list on her wall was out of date. "That's going to be a problem, Skipper," he says, and the other day he was right. One of the students had a little meltdown requiring an administrator's support, but for some reason there was no answer in the main office when she called. Deciding to phone the assistant principal directly, she looked at her list and realized that neither he, nor his office were in the building last year, and so, William was right.

William's mom is a colleague of ours, and so we knew right away when her father-in-law passed away over the weekend. Extending my condolences to her, I asked how William was taking it since he was very close to his grandfather. "It's beginning to sink in," she told me, "but when we told him the news, the first thing he said was, We'll have to take him off our contact list."

We laughed at the pragmatism of such a reaction; it's that kind of quirkiness that makes even the most challenging middle schoolers so much fun.

Just a few minutes ago, I clicked over to my Facebook account and was presented with a memory from three years ago today, when we went out to celebrate our wedding with a friend from out of town. It was a lovely evening, a memory to treasure, made even more so by the fact that our friend passed away unexpectedly a few months later.

Apologies to William, but I'm glad he's still on my contact list.

Community Outreach

I crossed paths with a bundled-up woman being pulled along by a perky black and white dog on my way out of school this afternoon.

"Ms. S!" she hailed me. "I'm Connor's mom!"

I peered a little more closely at the rosy face beneath the crochet beret. "Hello!" I greeted her warmly. "This must be Piper!" I continued, leaning down and patting the dog.

"Yes!" she answered, "but how do you know? We just got her Sunday."

"Oh, Connor wrote all about it for the writing challenge," I explained. "It was a pretty exciting event."

She beamed. "I'm so happy he's doing that," she told me, "and he told me he really likes it so far."

It was my turn to smile. "Thanks for letting me know!" Just then the puppy gave an energetic yank on the leash. "Enjoy your walk!" I waved. "Nice to meet you, Piper!"