I saw the small bag with the ribbons in them when I arrived in class. The Post-It said I was to pass them out to first period and why. But, being a middle school class, I figured passing the ribbons out at the end of the period would be for the best, so I set it aside.
But then, midway through the period, one of the assistant principals came over the PA to say something about the ribbons. Now the kiddos were clued in to their existence, so against my better judgment, I passed the ribbons out.
These were the standard small lapel pin ribbons that celebrities wear on the red carpet. These ribbons were orange, and they had provided a small pin to attach them to clothing. (Alas, not a safety pin...)
If you know middle schoolers, you know what came next.
They couldn't figure out how to attach the ribbons. I tried to demonstrate, but they were mostly not listening. One girl just had me attach the thing to her shirt.
The boy next to her, however, decided to pin the pin through his finger.
The girl was grossed out. She asked him to take the thing off his finger. Knowing it was bothering her, the boy, of course, now made a bigger deal out of the pin sticking in his finger than he had before.
I'm squeamish. I objected to this display as well. When the boy wouldn't relent, I informed the boy he had now lost the ribbon. He handed it over with minimum fuss.
The rest of the class managed to attach the ribbons to their clothing. One boy put it on his pants. Another put it on his backpack. The other boy who attached it to his finger put the ribbon on something else.
At the end of the period, the boy wanted the ribbon back. They were having an assembly that day, and all the students were encouraged to have them on. I explained that if he attached it again to his flesh, he would lose it completely.
He attached it to the hood of his sweatshirt. Well, I said it had to be on his clothing. So, good enough. He argued that attaching it to his hair would work as well, but I vetoed that idea. And then they left.
Why were ribbons being distributed to the students? They were in honor of the student who passed away over winter break. Cancer. They were honoring her with a moment of silence at the assembly.
That's really nice of the school to honor the student in that way
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was. I think this is the 2nd student who died this year. Or maybe that other boy was last year... It's scary that I'd lose track of that.
DeleteHow sad. And unsurprising that ribbons would be a huge distraction.
ReplyDeleteVery touching. The teacher could have given you a heads-up on this.
ReplyDeleteThere was a Post-it on the baggie. And that was amazing considering that I was actually the sub of a sub. (This class was a mess with the sub of a sub thing.)
DeleteSomeone in my son's grade fought cancer for several years and passed away when my son was in high school. I don't know how they honored her. Too bad that middle school kids....will be middle school kids. Ah, immaturity. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteIt's so sad when a teen passes like this. Sadly, it happens all the time.
DeleteCool that the school organised a moment for friends to reflect and remember.
ReplyDeleteOh yea, when a student passes, there's always a remembrance. A few, actually. (This is not the first time I've been a witness to how the school deals with the passing of a student.)
DeleteIt was a nice thought but the school could have organised it a bit better.
ReplyDeleteThat's Purrfect
This reminds me of a strange house call from a neighbor child. Yesterday she knocked and stated her school was raising money for the family of an eight year old girl born with holes in her heart. Sounds nice. Right? What's weird is that the children collecting earn prizes for various dollar amounts. ??? Collect a thousand bucks and the kid gets a video camera. She was quick to point that out as an enticement to me, I guess, and I could only question in my head just who gets the bulk of this cash at the end of the 'competition'. Nonetheless, I gave a generous $20 in the spirit of neighborliness.
ReplyDeleteThere's always a competition with prizes when the schools fundraise. It's a way to incentivize the students. Sad that they'd do that in this case, however.
DeleteMiddle school kids and ribbons = funny.
ReplyDeleteThe reason for the ribbons = hug your kids tight.
Yeah. This incident just had that interesting juxtaposition.
DeleteThere's one in every class isn't there?
ReplyDeleteAt least one. And if the class has more than one, run.
DeleteOh ew ew I'm squeamish, too. That would have done me in. How sad that the ribbons were needed :(
ReplyDeleteI would have freaked about the needle in the kid's skin. Needles and blood totally freak me out. It sounds like the point of the ribbons may have been somewhat lost on most of them.
ReplyDeleteThey get it, but they don't. If it had been someone they knew, it would have been more devastating. But as the girl wasn't in their circle of friends/classes, it was all rather abstract to them. And middle schoolers have issues with abstract.
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