It was a seventh grade science class. They were supposed to be working on a vocabulary assignment dealing with erosion and weathering (earth science stuff). And mostly they were.
But seventh graders can be easily distracted by random stuff. And even though they weren't supposed to be on their cell phones (I had banned them as they had abused the privilege the day before), clearly something had caught the eye of a group of three boys sitting on the right side of the classroom.
I said something about them having an assignment to complete.
So, the one boy sitting behind the other two looked down at his lap and quoted, "Violators subject to prosecution..."
Oh, so the boy just misread something. Again, not on topic. And we didn't need to go down that particular rabbit hole. I again directed them to get back to work.
But you know they didn't. One of the three had to look up on his phone the word "prostitution"...
I'd've thought they would have heard the term before. Apparently not. Because suddenly all three boys were looking around with wide eyes...
And I made a note of this for their teacher. Because, well, it was that kind of day.
...was the only thing I heard from some conversation at the back of the room. My mind immediately went to earthquake evacuation, and needing to explain why he should remain on campus in such a situation (because a missing student will be looked for), I approached the group. And learned that that was not what they were talking about.
You know what they say about assuming things...
Now I was in the conversation. About what they would do if there was a school shooting. *deep sigh*
This is not the sort of conversation I want to encourage. I don't want to give anyone any ideas. I don't want to scare them. But one of the girls was telling the others about a "riot" at her old school. Which turned into a conversation about what they would do in that situation. Because they're teens.
(Teens tend to be pretty self absorbed. Things tend to be all about them. Try it sometime. Start talking to a teen. See how fast they turn any topic into a definition of themselves.)
So, it turned out the boy was right. Because I remembered seeing a video about what to do in such a situation, and running is the right thing to do.
I managed to find the video for you...
I should mention that this was a high school class. Spanish 2. So, at minimum, they were sophomores. But many were juniors and seniors. (Age wise, that's a minimum of 15 up to age 17.) It would have been a whole different scenario if they had been, like, 12.
The conversation turned to something else shortly after this, so I went back to the front of the room. Only to have a girl call me over. Upset.
When the period started, she had exited the room in tears. For what reason, I have no idea. But now she was barely holding it together again. She asked if she could step out because the conversation the others were having upset her.
*another deep sigh*
I knew not stopping that conversation was going slap me upside the head.
In my defense, I thought they were mature enough to handle the topic. And they really should have some idea what to do if faced with the situation. I didn't start it. I didn't contribute to it (other than mentioning run, hide, and fight). And it ended fairly quickly.
I let the girl step out of class.
And when I saw the teacher at the end of the day, I made sure to tell her all about it. Because one must be careful. (It wasn't like anyone was threatening anything. Just discussing what to do if faced with the situation.)
I love to hear all the sorts of things they talk about. But that can turn on me with no warning.
