Tuesday. Fifth period.
It was the independent work portion of the period. I had gone over some problems (we've started the probability unit, so they were doing practice problems on things like, "How many possible ice cream cones can you make with 3 cone types, 5 ice cream flavors, and 3 toppings?"), and it was their turn to try them on their own.
The students weren't having too much trouble with the concepts, so Ms. L and I were at the front of the room, waiting for questions. A student approached.
"Jeff got in a fight. Now he's in the discipline office."
Both Ms. L and I looked over at Jeff's desk. His computer was open. His notes were sitting there. His backpack was leaning against the bottom of the chair.
Ms. L: "He just left to go to the restroom..."
He hadn't been gone all that long. Definitely not long enough for either of us to be concerned. But now we knew he wasn't going to return.
Deep sigh.
(How did the student know? I assume that Jeff texted him, and he conveyed the information to us.)
We continued on. At the end of the period, all the students cleared out. Jeff's stuff remained at his desk.
After fifth period was lunch. Security arrived a few minutes into lunch to retrieve Jeff's stuff. (The computer belonged to the classroom, so I logged Jeff out and returned it to charge.)
Some students give off a certain vibe. You know they're trouble. Jeff? Not so much. He's a good kid who's doing fairly well in class. So, I was shocked. But really, at that age, I shouldn't be that shocked.
Teachers can tell though. If you found it surprising, then there might be more to it. I mean, to the school fighting is fighting, but it might have been somehow justified. Not just a "looked at me wrong," which I have seen only in girls!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I mean. I'd been with the class for over a month. He was not on my list of expected fighters.
DeleteI’m sure there’s more to the story
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm sure. If I knew who to ask, I would probably ask.
DeleteNow I'm stuck trying to figure out how many ice cream cone possibilities there were.
ReplyDeleteLiz, you're such a good teacher that you caught my mistake count on this week's TT. Fixed. And the dream came after a concerning diagnosis. I guess the meaning is that you can only be where you are. They text in school now?
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a good interpretation. As for texting, yeah, the phones are a problem. They are constantly texting each other.
DeleteI'm also wondering what else there is to the story. And while I'm at it, I'm already craving hamburgers from another blog. Now, I'm craving ice cream, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing they didn't list ice cream flavors and toppings in that question then, eh?
Deletethecontemplativecat here. What has happened? No matter what, it won't be good.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if security retrieved his stuff, it was not a good incident.
DeleteLike my grandson, great kid, biggest heart of all times, but he tends to get in pushing fights at school with FRIENDS. I told him that he needed new friends.
ReplyDeleteThey do that. A lot. If I'm out of the classroom and I see kiddos doing that, I give them a look. They usually stop when they see me watching.
DeleteIt sounds like a surprising moment in class. Sometimes students can catch us off guard. It's good that you and Ms. L handled it calmly. Jeff's situation reminds us that appearances can be deceiving. Thanks for sharing your experience.
ReplyDeleteSometimes there's really nothing to do except not react.
DeleteAs an older woman, I must again state that campus security is a surreal idea to me and school shootings even more so. Stay safe, my dear.
ReplyDeleteThey're actually very nice. At least to us adults ;)
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