Keeping Up with the Cool Boys

Friday. Sixth period seventh grade science. 

They had an assignment on geology. It was done in stations. That is, the class had three different activities to complete with a third of the class doing each activity. I timed them, having them move on to the next activity after 15-20 minutes had elapsed. (I was familiar with the assignment as it was the last thing I did with seventh grade science class last year as I finished up my 30 days.) 

Because Ms. W said it didn't matter who was in which group, I asked for volunteers to start the rock measuring station. (There were rocks that they were to "observe". They had to draw them, use a ruler to measure them, weigh them, and roll them.) Of course, the boys who volunteered... 

Yeah, so it didn't go well. The boys played around. They should have been measuring rocks. They were making jokes. (Not that you can't joke and work, but seventh graders. They can do one or the other, not both.) They were running. They were mock fighting. You know, the usual. 

I reminded them they had limited time. And when the timer went off, I told them it was time to move on to station two. 

But no. They weren't finished... 

Yeah, they weren't finished. Not shocked. But that was their fault for wasting time. 

I stood over them and shooed them back to their seats. Time. Was. Up. 

Hugo wasn't happy. Hugo had been trying to work, but the other boys... It's hard to work in that kind of chaos. I was sorry, but time was up. I told Hugo that he had to go back to his seat. He burst into tears.

Hugo pulled it together and went back to his seat. As did the other boys. I got a new group to the observing rocks station (a much calmer group), and we moved on. 

What I had forgotten was that Hugo had a one-to-one aide. Before going on his lunch break, he told me that if something went wrong, I was to send Hugo to his case carrier. Which I didn't do, because forgot. (There was lots going on. I am not shocked I forgot.) 

When the aide returned from his lunch, he asked how things had gone. And I told him. 

The aide proceeded to take the rest of the period to get reports from the other students as to what went down. Sigh. Apparently, Hugo's meltdown was a level 1, which was good, as Hugo has been known to lash out when he gets upset... 

I guess I dodged a bullet. 

Of course I let Ms. W know what went down. Her response was that Hugo "wants to work with the 'cool boys' but does not actually handle the chaos very well". 

Those are the "cool boys"? Yikes. Seventh graders really have terrible taste.