Miss Q's birthday.
Today, I got to work with Beancurd, Uniqua and Fate on EOC review. All three of them were only one point away. Uniqua, I knew was extremely nervous. The day of the test she ended up throwing up. I also know Fate has a tendency to take a long time, and somtimes get frustrated. Talking with Miz Boss, there's an interesting take on why Beancurd did so poorly.
He tried to cheat during the test apparently missing the fact that two different colored tests would provide different answers. He guessed. Why?
Miz Boss hinted at some underhandedness from his mother. Something about her making him fail to prove that he's 'disabled.' Weird.
Almost equally weird was how unlike Uniqua and fate, he was done early.
"Check it, please. I swear I didn't cheat (even though I don't swear) and I can even show you the work!" he said. He got almost all of them right. It was a bit suspicious, honestly.
"You'll do well on the test." I said.
"I won't." he replied, as a matter of fact.
Just what is going on with him?
Showing posts with label Fate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fate. Show all posts
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
May 3rd, 2011 (Week 2)
Miss Q came outside to chaos.
Dexter and Fruitbat are bad drivers.
"Miss Q wekeephittingsharpturns and both of our kids are lying bleeding on the floor!"
"Who's driving this thing?"
"I am! It's Fruitbat's fault! She was supposed to make me coffee this morning!"
"Why didn't you make him coffee this morning???"
"I DON"T KNOW!"
It was pretty bad. Sitting on the swings, Fruitbat and Dexter apparently started off on a peaceful drive with their imaginary family. But it was hardly a minute before the Chippettes ran up. Nancy Drew was jumping up and down over the little tyke that said the s-word (gasp)... sexy. Or at least I think that's what they were excited about. Princesstard talks fast when she's excited.
"Let's go back to see if he'll do it again!"
Then Co-pilot and Mariska raced to see who would tag Miss Q first today. I forget who won.
Speaking of winning, Miss Q and the turtles had a fun bet today. On my right Miss Bieber and Beancurd. In front of me in order was Nala, Fate, Uniqua and Skinny Jeanz who was now on crutches thanks to a softball accident. It might be the second time this year.
The Girls table (which always includes Beancurd) was fun and interesting. Miss Q had been wondering how Fate and Uniqua became so buddy-buddy this week. Fate actually explained.
"I started hanging out with them a few days. Just not at recess. Cause so-and-so doesn't like me." Then they talked and talked. Fate even talked to Beancurd. Or tried to. She told him he better be nice to her, since she gave him that thing. "Yak yak yak" said Beancurd. Which is what Beancurd likes to do. Except he was stangely quiet.
Like clockwork he eventually got up to leave to go take his medicine, leaving half of a sub. Wait.
What?
"Whoah. Beancurd's eating!" Miss Q announced, awed because a fourth grader was eating at lunch.
"I know!" said Miss Beiber. Beancurd almost never ate. That's why he's a Beancurd.
Soon Miss Q had a bet with Miss Bieber. I said he would eat all the rest of his sandwhich when he came back. Miss Bieber said he would only eat half. If Miss Beiber won, she'd get Miss Q's visitor sticker. The rest of The Girls agreed to stay quiet and not mention it to see what happens.
"Miss Rrrrrr." We waved at Miss R. Laughing, because Miss Q didn't say her name loud enough.
"Quick, act normal."
As soon as Beancurd came back, the turtles made these very subtle gestures to manipulate the outcome.
"Eat it already!!"
"No, don't finish it."
"Shhhh. AHHAHa"
It was major fun. Miss Beiber and I laughed anough to add years to our lives. Beancurd eventually finished his sandwhich, drawing out the last chews as long as possible. Miss Q got to keep her sticker.
This was before they got in line and Beancurd apparently did something awful.
I told Co-Pilot to try and be forgiving toward Mook and why he was probably acting annoying and that he probably actually wanted to be friends.
After cursive during reading time, Miss Beiber said,
"Miss Q, I know Beancurd's gonna talk to me. Can he move?"
Hmmm.
We made a deal. If Beancurd talked, Miss Beiber would get Miss Q's visitor sticker. I ended up keeping it.
But not before Beancurd came up to Miss Q twice. How do you pronounce sea anemone? Have you ever seen piranha?
After a deep discussion on both topics, Miss Q noticed a pattern.
Whenever faced with the challenge of not talking. Beancurd had plenty of questions. I thought this was something positive. Later of course, I found out he had told Rickster to 'move aside fatty' right in front of Miss R, who was mortified.
Miss Q was a bit embarrassed. I wonder if his family may have thought in endearing at first, how he says the first thing that comes to his mind. But other than that, it was a good day.
Dexter and Fruitbat are bad drivers.
"Miss Q wekeephittingsharpturns and both of our kids are lying bleeding on the floor!"
"Who's driving this thing?"
"I am! It's Fruitbat's fault! She was supposed to make me coffee this morning!"
"Why didn't you make him coffee this morning???"
"I DON"T KNOW!"
It was pretty bad. Sitting on the swings, Fruitbat and Dexter apparently started off on a peaceful drive with their imaginary family. But it was hardly a minute before the Chippettes ran up. Nancy Drew was jumping up and down over the little tyke that said the s-word (gasp)... sexy. Or at least I think that's what they were excited about. Princesstard talks fast when she's excited.
"Let's go back to see if he'll do it again!"
Then Co-pilot and Mariska raced to see who would tag Miss Q first today. I forget who won.
Speaking of winning, Miss Q and the turtles had a fun bet today. On my right Miss Bieber and Beancurd. In front of me in order was Nala, Fate, Uniqua and Skinny Jeanz who was now on crutches thanks to a softball accident. It might be the second time this year.
The Girls table (which always includes Beancurd) was fun and interesting. Miss Q had been wondering how Fate and Uniqua became so buddy-buddy this week. Fate actually explained.
"I started hanging out with them a few days. Just not at recess. Cause so-and-so doesn't like me." Then they talked and talked. Fate even talked to Beancurd. Or tried to. She told him he better be nice to her, since she gave him that thing. "Yak yak yak" said Beancurd. Which is what Beancurd likes to do. Except he was stangely quiet.
Like clockwork he eventually got up to leave to go take his medicine, leaving half of a sub. Wait.
What?
"Whoah. Beancurd's eating!" Miss Q announced, awed because a fourth grader was eating at lunch.
"I know!" said Miss Beiber. Beancurd almost never ate. That's why he's a Beancurd.
Soon Miss Q had a bet with Miss Bieber. I said he would eat all the rest of his sandwhich when he came back. Miss Bieber said he would only eat half. If Miss Beiber won, she'd get Miss Q's visitor sticker. The rest of The Girls agreed to stay quiet and not mention it to see what happens.
"Miss Rrrrrr." We waved at Miss R. Laughing, because Miss Q didn't say her name loud enough.
"Quick, act normal."
As soon as Beancurd came back, the turtles made these very subtle gestures to manipulate the outcome.
"Eat it already!!"
"No, don't finish it."
"Shhhh. AHHAHa"
It was major fun. Miss Beiber and I laughed anough to add years to our lives. Beancurd eventually finished his sandwhich, drawing out the last chews as long as possible. Miss Q got to keep her sticker.
This was before they got in line and Beancurd apparently did something awful.
I told Co-Pilot to try and be forgiving toward Mook and why he was probably acting annoying and that he probably actually wanted to be friends.
After cursive during reading time, Miss Beiber said,
"Miss Q, I know Beancurd's gonna talk to me. Can he move?"
Hmmm.
We made a deal. If Beancurd talked, Miss Beiber would get Miss Q's visitor sticker. I ended up keeping it.
But not before Beancurd came up to Miss Q twice. How do you pronounce sea anemone? Have you ever seen piranha?
After a deep discussion on both topics, Miss Q noticed a pattern.
Whenever faced with the challenge of not talking. Beancurd had plenty of questions. I thought this was something positive. Later of course, I found out he had told Rickster to 'move aside fatty' right in front of Miss R, who was mortified.
Miss Q was a bit embarrassed. I wonder if his family may have thought in endearing at first, how he says the first thing that comes to his mind. But other than that, it was a good day.
May 5th, 2011 (Week 2)
Teacher Cadet is cancelled next year.
Miss Q took a spelling test with the awkward turtles and failed to spell addend right, but teacher cadet was cancelled next year.
At lunch they called out for Miss Rrrr. Mr. Willard came to eat with us. Miss Q played the games on the backs of the milk cartons with Fate. ("You can't be crashin' through walls to get through the maze!")But Teacher Cadet was cancelled next year.
At one point, Miss Q might have tried to explain that Teacher Cadet was cancelled next year. As I was still there, and they didn't see how it affected them, they shrugged.
Beancurd was so silly today. The combination of Zefron, Uniqua, The Brit and Skinny Jeanz made a funny table. But as the little flutes played during Music and the teacher threatened to throw Beancurd out for the second time, Miss Q wondered exactly what where she would be.
Mr. German put it this way. "Do you want to be a teacher or hang out with the people in Teacher Cadet?" I wanted both.
"I always liked doing the independent thing. The people in groups can be whiny." he added, as if thinking back to some program he went through.
Hmm.
Mr. German's optimism was appreciated. But I can't put an estimate on the strength I get from seeing other Teacher Cadets. It's almost as if I felt I was competent and capable at teaching simply because Lady Finch or some Cadet insisted or told me I was. I will miss this.
Although I don't make a clear comparison, I consider myself the least deserving or entitled to a Teacher Cadet class. But because I took chemistry last year, I know when it's worthy to pursue something, even if you don't aren't immediately good at it. To me, that's something to be proud of.
Miss Q took a spelling test with the awkward turtles and failed to spell addend right, but teacher cadet was cancelled next year.
At lunch they called out for Miss Rrrr. Mr. Willard came to eat with us. Miss Q played the games on the backs of the milk cartons with Fate. ("You can't be crashin' through walls to get through the maze!")But Teacher Cadet was cancelled next year.
At one point, Miss Q might have tried to explain that Teacher Cadet was cancelled next year. As I was still there, and they didn't see how it affected them, they shrugged.
Beancurd was so silly today. The combination of Zefron, Uniqua, The Brit and Skinny Jeanz made a funny table. But as the little flutes played during Music and the teacher threatened to throw Beancurd out for the second time, Miss Q wondered exactly what where she would be.
Mr. German put it this way. "Do you want to be a teacher or hang out with the people in Teacher Cadet?" I wanted both.
"I always liked doing the independent thing. The people in groups can be whiny." he added, as if thinking back to some program he went through.
Hmm.
Mr. German's optimism was appreciated. But I can't put an estimate on the strength I get from seeing other Teacher Cadets. It's almost as if I felt I was competent and capable at teaching simply because Lady Finch or some Cadet insisted or told me I was. I will miss this.
Although I don't make a clear comparison, I consider myself the least deserving or entitled to a Teacher Cadet class. But because I took chemistry last year, I know when it's worthy to pursue something, even if you don't aren't immediately good at it. To me, that's something to be proud of.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monday May 2nd, 2011
Miss Q's birthday is in 22 days. That just came to mind.
Miss Q's thoughts are constantly changing. The low level of anxiety that sometimes attended her was gone today. Maybe this was a result of all the hoping, praying, and thinking she'd done this weekend that took her mind off herself.
Zefron returned. Everyone was here except for one boy, the one that Miss Q had thought about all weekend. Memphis had ten days of suspension to serve. But I'll tell you everything Miss Q goes through for and with him later.
At lunch, Miss Q struggled to make Dubby see the seriousness of his rudeness to Mook. However, Mook, who's ego was already bruised began to try to annoy Co-Pilot and Dubby back. Miss Q has learned that this is Mook's way of putting up a shell to protect his feelings. If I can be obnoxious, than I don't have to let you know that you hurt my feelings.
But since I'm thinking about it now, should Miss Q tell him that? If Miss Q talked about it to Dubby, would that make him understand? With kids, sometimes it doesn't hurt to go beneath the surface. We'll see. Finally Miss Q asked him to finish telling her about the World of Warcraft game. Again, his eyes lit up.
Listening, someone might see the connection between the violence and raw nature of his video games and the mean-spirited nature of his insults toward Mook and play with Co-Pilot ("Let go of his arm"). But changing the topic got him off focus from his clash with Mook.
For some reason, Miss Q felt a bit tense after that, as if something bad was about to happen. It must have shown because a few times, the turtles looked a bit spooked when they caught her looking at them.
Fate's attitude toward Miss Q was cool today.
"How's the baby sister?"
She stuck her thumb up. Then she asked to move so as to not sit next to "them", meaning the Boy Band.
Once she looked up at me and stared at me for ten straight seconds like a deer caught in the headlights. Honestly, I didn't mean to stare. But I did wonder what was up with her.
Today, we got to go to gym to see Mr. Willard. Jailbreak is a favorite. He and Miss Q both agreed that the awkward turtles made up the best and most interesting class. Leading by example and with of competitive nudging, Miss Q was able to get everybody to aim for Mr. Willard on the other side. By arguing playfully with Beancurd over who would hit Stew first, Beancurd pegged him out twice. It was a lovely game.
Beancurd drove me crazy on while the class were waiting on the steps listening to directions. He seems to talk compulsively, but at the same time we still have a relationship. In the reading corner, there's a little beach chair. Today, the boy got stuck when the chair caved in on him and Miss Q had to help him out. It was so funny to see him trying to look innocent after I looked back to see if he would do it again on purpose.
Miss Q's thoughts are constantly changing. The low level of anxiety that sometimes attended her was gone today. Maybe this was a result of all the hoping, praying, and thinking she'd done this weekend that took her mind off herself.
Zefron returned. Everyone was here except for one boy, the one that Miss Q had thought about all weekend. Memphis had ten days of suspension to serve. But I'll tell you everything Miss Q goes through for and with him later.
At lunch, Miss Q struggled to make Dubby see the seriousness of his rudeness to Mook. However, Mook, who's ego was already bruised began to try to annoy Co-Pilot and Dubby back. Miss Q has learned that this is Mook's way of putting up a shell to protect his feelings. If I can be obnoxious, than I don't have to let you know that you hurt my feelings.
But since I'm thinking about it now, should Miss Q tell him that? If Miss Q talked about it to Dubby, would that make him understand? With kids, sometimes it doesn't hurt to go beneath the surface. We'll see. Finally Miss Q asked him to finish telling her about the World of Warcraft game. Again, his eyes lit up.
Listening, someone might see the connection between the violence and raw nature of his video games and the mean-spirited nature of his insults toward Mook and play with Co-Pilot ("Let go of his arm"). But changing the topic got him off focus from his clash with Mook.
For some reason, Miss Q felt a bit tense after that, as if something bad was about to happen. It must have shown because a few times, the turtles looked a bit spooked when they caught her looking at them.
Fate's attitude toward Miss Q was cool today.
"How's the baby sister?"
She stuck her thumb up. Then she asked to move so as to not sit next to "them", meaning the Boy Band.
Once she looked up at me and stared at me for ten straight seconds like a deer caught in the headlights. Honestly, I didn't mean to stare. But I did wonder what was up with her.
Today, we got to go to gym to see Mr. Willard. Jailbreak is a favorite. He and Miss Q both agreed that the awkward turtles made up the best and most interesting class. Leading by example and with of competitive nudging, Miss Q was able to get everybody to aim for Mr. Willard on the other side. By arguing playfully with Beancurd over who would hit Stew first, Beancurd pegged him out twice. It was a lovely game.
Beancurd drove me crazy on while the class were waiting on the steps listening to directions. He seems to talk compulsively, but at the same time we still have a relationship. In the reading corner, there's a little beach chair. Today, the boy got stuck when the chair caved in on him and Miss Q had to help him out. It was so funny to see him trying to look innocent after I looked back to see if he would do it again on purpose.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Order of Things (Blog 17)
The Order of Things
There are some things that surprise Miss Q about elementary.
The turtles seem to have a self-awareness of themselves in the social pecking order of things. The same awareness that Miss Q now remembers she had herself in fourth grade.
There are several groups in the class.
The "boy band" The Atomic Ponies, with Zefron, Dubby, Co-Pilot, Boo, and Solomon.
Their sophisticated female counterparts the Chippettes: Mariska, Nancy Drew, and Princesstard.
The two bright best friends, somewhat considered sissies: Dexter and The Brit.
The Trio: Freakazoid, Mook, and The Gage.
The Girls (popular?): Uniqua/Miwok, Miss Beiber, Skinny Jeanz and ... Beancurd. Have to explain that one sometime.
And the rest are somewhat misfits. Fate gets along consistently with few classmates. Rickster is just the opposite. He's the tallest of the class, talks slowly, has a largish frame. He just wants to chill, man. Fruitbat sometimes hangs out with the Girls but sees herself as the weird, quirky chick. She can't stand Fate. Memphis often shows off in misbehavior in front of the girls. The boy band and the rest of the boys think he's pretty bad to the bone and all that, but find him unapproachable. Nala sometimes doesn't seem as accepted, but it doesn't appear to bother her.
This is what the class is like, I think to a 4th grader experiencing it. There's good pressure and bad pressure. The boy band to me has the most positive, drama free, and fun connections. However I worry about the Girls (along with Beancurd). They're nice to me, but not nearly as nice to everyone else. Uniqua is a prime example. I feel like because of her charm, grades, or all-star quality she gets away with a lot of harsh words. Especially towards Fate.
Of all the groups, Miss Q has yet to have one-on-one interaction with any of The Girls. They're always together, acting up as a unit. And the clique-ish quality makes a Cadet uneasy. Miss Q hopes that now that she realizes this, she can influence them to want to think for themselves and have a better influence on each other.
Miss Q has made sure to let Fate know she's allowed to switch to other table if she gets too angry. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This is normal, right?
I don't want my turtles to be normal.
The new goal (coming to me as I write) is to change the status quo amongst the turtles. We lack chemistry, it's been said. We don't mesh. Oddballs. What needs to be done now is to make sure that values that are really lasting are at the top of the pecking order, and things like the phantom elementary "popularity" are at the bottom.
The cool thing about elementary school, or specifically Awkward Admiral Elementary, is rather than just pushing them through test scores, the teachers really care about what the students are like. This just isn't the same in a high school. It goes along with the character education bit in the curriculum and is necessary and practical to run a classroom but values are sincere and genuine. In elementary school, one of the most important things is learning how to be in a classroom. That's what's so great about it.
For Fate sometimes being in a classroom means stess and rejection. For Memphis on some days it means showing out to get attention, to keep a tough devil-may-care attitude. TheBut there are countless moments when being part of a classroom means being part of a classroom.
The silence that falls when the teacher demands silence and means it. The cheer when the class earns Footballs in P.E. Reminding each other (gently or not) which of their assignments is missing. Answering questions earnestly. I hope I never take for granted being apart of that.
There are some things that surprise Miss Q about elementary.
The turtles seem to have a self-awareness of themselves in the social pecking order of things. The same awareness that Miss Q now remembers she had herself in fourth grade.
There are several groups in the class.
The "boy band" The Atomic Ponies, with Zefron, Dubby, Co-Pilot, Boo, and Solomon.
Their sophisticated female counterparts the Chippettes: Mariska, Nancy Drew, and Princesstard.
The two bright best friends, somewhat considered sissies: Dexter and The Brit.
The Trio: Freakazoid, Mook, and The Gage.
The Girls (popular?): Uniqua/Miwok, Miss Beiber, Skinny Jeanz and ... Beancurd. Have to explain that one sometime.
And the rest are somewhat misfits. Fate gets along consistently with few classmates. Rickster is just the opposite. He's the tallest of the class, talks slowly, has a largish frame. He just wants to chill, man. Fruitbat sometimes hangs out with the Girls but sees herself as the weird, quirky chick. She can't stand Fate. Memphis often shows off in misbehavior in front of the girls. The boy band and the rest of the boys think he's pretty bad to the bone and all that, but find him unapproachable. Nala sometimes doesn't seem as accepted, but it doesn't appear to bother her.
This is what the class is like, I think to a 4th grader experiencing it. There's good pressure and bad pressure. The boy band to me has the most positive, drama free, and fun connections. However I worry about the Girls (along with Beancurd). They're nice to me, but not nearly as nice to everyone else. Uniqua is a prime example. I feel like because of her charm, grades, or all-star quality she gets away with a lot of harsh words. Especially towards Fate.
Of all the groups, Miss Q has yet to have one-on-one interaction with any of The Girls. They're always together, acting up as a unit. And the clique-ish quality makes a Cadet uneasy. Miss Q hopes that now that she realizes this, she can influence them to want to think for themselves and have a better influence on each other.
Miss Q has made sure to let Fate know she's allowed to switch to other table if she gets too angry. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This is normal, right?
I don't want my turtles to be normal.
The new goal (coming to me as I write) is to change the status quo amongst the turtles. We lack chemistry, it's been said. We don't mesh. Oddballs. What needs to be done now is to make sure that values that are really lasting are at the top of the pecking order, and things like the phantom elementary "popularity" are at the bottom.
The cool thing about elementary school, or specifically Awkward Admiral Elementary, is rather than just pushing them through test scores, the teachers really care about what the students are like. This just isn't the same in a high school. It goes along with the character education bit in the curriculum and is necessary and practical to run a classroom but values are sincere and genuine. In elementary school, one of the most important things is learning how to be in a classroom. That's what's so great about it.
For Fate sometimes being in a classroom means stess and rejection. For Memphis on some days it means showing out to get attention, to keep a tough devil-may-care attitude. TheBut there are countless moments when being part of a classroom means being part of a classroom.
The silence that falls when the teacher demands silence and means it. The cheer when the class earns Footballs in P.E. Reminding each other (gently or not) which of their assignments is missing. Answering questions earnestly. I hope I never take for granted being apart of that.
Monday, March 21, 2011
3/21/11: My Own Boy Band, The Atomic Ponies (Blog 10)
"Bye Atomic Ponies bandleader." Zefron whispers as Miss Q exits the computer room.
"I thought you were the leader."
"Oh right... well, you're the manager."
Zefron, all warm brown eyes, and outstanding sense of humor heads what Miss Q calls her "boy band."
On a very interesting day when Miss Q went with the awkward turtles to play soccer for P.E (remind her to tell you about it) Miss Q remembered afterward a comment the coach made about the classroom.
"I guess there's just a weird chemistry going on in this class. They don't seem to mix so well."
This was of course referring to the turtles P.E performance. There had been some spectacular moments. Miss Q got them excited, got them to chant about teamwork and how awesome they were gonna do in the class together.
...And then Uniqua (who now wants to be called Miwok) let loos her sassy mouth on Fate and Fate broke down into tears on the sidelines. As Miss Q gently encouraged her to get back in, the morale of the teams seemed to sink from their, dissolving into general irritation at one another's lack of performance.
"It's usually the girls." Noted Lady Finch.
"You guys are gonna be around each other for a long time. Ya'll should start learning to get along." Said Coach.
"You're kids are crazy." Said Stewbeef, although at that point, when they were excited, Miss Q thinks he meant in a good way.
But a weird chemistry? Did Miss Q's class just not blend well like oil and water. Maybe. Fate so far has yet to get along with anyone in the classroom on a consistent basis without having to take herself out of the situation. Her method that she's learned is to isolate herself when she's angry, which is good, but Miss Q still wants her to figure out new ways to handle her emotional issues.
The Gage, Freakazoid, and Mook hanging out together is usually trouble, althoug Miss Q has amazing incidents to report for bothe of them. Nala is another mystery. The other girls seem to shun her at times, maybe because of her looks. She's a very dark girl with lines crisscrossing her face that remind you of scars.
"Quit acting like you're popular." Fate often lashes at Nala, who is often one her only allies. The class seems to have come to a general consensus on Fate. We may not be allowed to show meanness to her but we sure don't have to try to be nice to her. If only they weren't practically the same treatment?
Uniqua and Miss Beiber have sassy mouths and are very sly. Even catty. And Rickster? Well, he just wants to eat his lunch and chill.
So with troublemaking groups, catty mouths, and flaring tempers, does our group just have any chemistry?
Only if you know where to look. Five boys: Zefron (the funny one), Boo (the quiet one), Solomon (the wild one), Dubby (The One who does all the tricks with his arms) and Co-Pilot (The red-headed jovial one).
They sit together at lunch, play together at the playground, cheer for each other during Sparkle. Each of the friendships between them are very different and complicated.
One day two weeks ago, The band minus Solomon came running up to Miss Q.
"Solomon's being really mean!"
"Yeah! He gets like this sometimes. He pulled me by my arm into the ground!"
"And he says that word F** a lot."
The meaning was clear, as Miss Q noticed Solomon walking sullenly by himself. The group together had decided that, even though he was mostly a good friend, his behavior as of late was unacceptable and therefore they had to reject him.
In the lunch line, Miss Q asked them what they would do. It was Zefron who responded.
"I think we'll give him another chance."
This is when Miss Q first noticed the powerful dynamic in this little group. There was camraderie, there was order, and their was leadership.
"Ya'll are gonna be my boy band." Miss Q explained to them one day. She had a private word with Zefron.
"Now, whether you realize it or not, what you do influences the group. You have leadership qualities, so guess who I'm looking at whenever you and Co-pilot goof off in line?"
"I don't care." Zefron looks thoughtful for a moment. His body language betrays his words. He seemed to be figuring out if he like the weight of the 'responsibility' on one hand and the chance for extra praise on the other.
From that moment on, the boys took it from there, dubbing themselves the Atomic Ponies. They like it. And Miss Q will continue to find ways to work their natural group chemistry to her advantage. And man is it fun. The collective trust you get from them is priceless.
Speaking of groups.
"Miss Q. Miss Q!" It's Princesstard. As usual she is with Mariska and Nancy Drew, a sophisticated girl trio that remind me uncannily of the Chippettes (you know the girl chipmunks that were always trippin' about Alvin and the boys and offset them so well?)
"Were making a movie! It's like a reality t.v show. In order to get The Atomic Ponies to be in it, they're making us find them hot girlfriends and paying them 50$!"
What? In the lunch line when Zefron was asking honestly, do you see any hot girls around here?, Miss Q pointed to Mariska. His not-so-secret-admirer. Bad Miss Q!
He could barely find a comeback for embarrassment. Zefron said he didn't really want a girlfriend anyway. Good.
I could never find enough space to blog about the things I've seen. Perhaps one day, I'll have a blog-a-thon.
"I thought you were the leader."
"Oh right... well, you're the manager."
Zefron, all warm brown eyes, and outstanding sense of humor heads what Miss Q calls her "boy band."
On a very interesting day when Miss Q went with the awkward turtles to play soccer for P.E (remind her to tell you about it) Miss Q remembered afterward a comment the coach made about the classroom.
"I guess there's just a weird chemistry going on in this class. They don't seem to mix so well."
This was of course referring to the turtles P.E performance. There had been some spectacular moments. Miss Q got them excited, got them to chant about teamwork and how awesome they were gonna do in the class together.
...And then Uniqua (who now wants to be called Miwok) let loos her sassy mouth on Fate and Fate broke down into tears on the sidelines. As Miss Q gently encouraged her to get back in, the morale of the teams seemed to sink from their, dissolving into general irritation at one another's lack of performance.
"It's usually the girls." Noted Lady Finch.
"You guys are gonna be around each other for a long time. Ya'll should start learning to get along." Said Coach.
"You're kids are crazy." Said Stewbeef, although at that point, when they were excited, Miss Q thinks he meant in a good way.
But a weird chemistry? Did Miss Q's class just not blend well like oil and water. Maybe. Fate so far has yet to get along with anyone in the classroom on a consistent basis without having to take herself out of the situation. Her method that she's learned is to isolate herself when she's angry, which is good, but Miss Q still wants her to figure out new ways to handle her emotional issues.
The Gage, Freakazoid, and Mook hanging out together is usually trouble, althoug Miss Q has amazing incidents to report for bothe of them. Nala is another mystery. The other girls seem to shun her at times, maybe because of her looks. She's a very dark girl with lines crisscrossing her face that remind you of scars.
"Quit acting like you're popular." Fate often lashes at Nala, who is often one her only allies. The class seems to have come to a general consensus on Fate. We may not be allowed to show meanness to her but we sure don't have to try to be nice to her. If only they weren't practically the same treatment?
Uniqua and Miss Beiber have sassy mouths and are very sly. Even catty. And Rickster? Well, he just wants to eat his lunch and chill.
So with troublemaking groups, catty mouths, and flaring tempers, does our group just have any chemistry?
Only if you know where to look. Five boys: Zefron (the funny one), Boo (the quiet one), Solomon (the wild one), Dubby (The One who does all the tricks with his arms) and Co-Pilot (The red-headed jovial one).
They sit together at lunch, play together at the playground, cheer for each other during Sparkle. Each of the friendships between them are very different and complicated.
One day two weeks ago, The band minus Solomon came running up to Miss Q.
"Solomon's being really mean!"
"Yeah! He gets like this sometimes. He pulled me by my arm into the ground!"
"And he says that word F** a lot."
The meaning was clear, as Miss Q noticed Solomon walking sullenly by himself. The group together had decided that, even though he was mostly a good friend, his behavior as of late was unacceptable and therefore they had to reject him.
In the lunch line, Miss Q asked them what they would do. It was Zefron who responded.
"I think we'll give him another chance."
This is when Miss Q first noticed the powerful dynamic in this little group. There was camraderie, there was order, and their was leadership.
"Ya'll are gonna be my boy band." Miss Q explained to them one day. She had a private word with Zefron.
"Now, whether you realize it or not, what you do influences the group. You have leadership qualities, so guess who I'm looking at whenever you and Co-pilot goof off in line?"
"I don't care." Zefron looks thoughtful for a moment. His body language betrays his words. He seemed to be figuring out if he like the weight of the 'responsibility' on one hand and the chance for extra praise on the other.
From that moment on, the boys took it from there, dubbing themselves the Atomic Ponies. They like it. And Miss Q will continue to find ways to work their natural group chemistry to her advantage. And man is it fun. The collective trust you get from them is priceless.
Speaking of groups.
"Miss Q. Miss Q!" It's Princesstard. As usual she is with Mariska and Nancy Drew, a sophisticated girl trio that remind me uncannily of the Chippettes (you know the girl chipmunks that were always trippin' about Alvin and the boys and offset them so well?)
"Were making a movie! It's like a reality t.v show. In order to get The Atomic Ponies to be in it, they're making us find them hot girlfriends and paying them 50$!"
What? In the lunch line when Zefron was asking honestly, do you see any hot girls around here?, Miss Q pointed to Mariska. His not-so-secret-admirer. Bad Miss Q!
He could barely find a comeback for embarrassment. Zefron said he didn't really want a girlfriend anyway. Good.
I could never find enough space to blog about the things I've seen. Perhaps one day, I'll have a blog-a-thon.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
3/02/11: Fate Vs The Gage (Blog 8)
A tall 5th grade girl with braids spiking in a high ponytail bounced happily out of the room. She was a regular appearance in the classroom and her affection often squeezed the life out of Miz Boss.
"Ok." Announced Miz Boss in her level alto after her departure. "I just got a message from Yugochi. Mrs. Blox is a bit busy, so we'll be having art inside.
Miss Q was sitting beside Nancy Drew, but she was focused on the two sitting at the table beside her.
It was a bit of an twist to see that they just happened to sit beside each other after their argument at lunch, but eventually, eventually, the Gage conceded.
"I'll shut up now."
That was after Miss Q heard him still saying something and said it sounded an awful lot like "I want to sit by myself during Art."
After and not before some drama.
Fate, surprise of surprises, was actually the innocent party this time.
Ok, well there's no such thing as an innocent part in a 4th grade argument, but it wasn't Fate that Miss Q was slightly miffed at today. Fate had continually looked at Miss Q despairingly for what to do. As if to say, "You see? I really am trying. He is making me so mad. What should I do."
But The Gage had been offended. And when you offend The Gage he becomes like some kind of animal that will. not. budge. This time after what seemed like a civil discussion with Fate about why she didn't get the leadership position she wanted, The Gage started to bug her. Miss Q probably made it worse. I mean annoying Fate and getting Miss Q in a tizzy? Oh what fun! When Fate tried to sit somewhere, he followed her. Miss Q got up in his face, and afterward he sat down and changed the subject. Miss Q knew he still hadn't gotten the point so she tried a different route.
"I know you can act nicer than that. It makes me sad to see you act like that."
"No, I can't. Liar."
The Gage likes to get away with things. Miss Q finds it sort of easy not to take it personally, since he's like that with everyone. But today was a bit more intense (inside Miss Q's head if not in her actions) because she felt like she just had to get him to leave Fate alone.
Fate did good that day. Miss Q encouraged her through The Gage's pestering. What killed Miss Q was that he wasn't content to let her steam in the corner. He wanted to see her get upset. How frustrating. But if that were a test, then Fate would have somewhat passed.
Wow. Miss Q, now that you think about it, what does that mean? The Gage wanted to see Fate lose her cool. So what must you not do around The Gage?
While The Gage is very loveable, and has fun with Miss Q, he still has these moments where nothing seems to bother him when it comes to him doing what he wants. Also, Miss Q realized that he is a great influence on Mook. Mook is very compliant without the presence of The Gage, then those are the times when he seems to get the guts to not follow directions.
Miss Q wonders how she could have handled it better. One thing she tends to do is just sit there and watch the turtles when they start to argue to see how they handle it. Perhaps not such a good idea?
In another blog I should write about these special appearances and antics of other Teacher Cadets. For example, Lady Finch.
Miss Q: Trying to get her bathroom stragglers, Mook, The Gage, Fate, and Nala to go to the room. Mentally focused on avoiding power struggle.
Lady Finch: Hi Miss Q!
Miss Q: Wha? Oh Hi!!
Lady Finch stepped in for a moment. But here's the funny part. After she left:
Zefron: "Why did that Lady say she's read about me?"
Miss Q: "Umm... she's crazy?"
Zefron: "Ok."
Honestly, Lady Finch. It was the only thing Miss Q could come up with.
"Ok." Announced Miz Boss in her level alto after her departure. "I just got a message from Yugochi. Mrs. Blox is a bit busy, so we'll be having art inside.
Miss Q was sitting beside Nancy Drew, but she was focused on the two sitting at the table beside her.
It was a bit of an twist to see that they just happened to sit beside each other after their argument at lunch, but eventually, eventually, the Gage conceded.
"I'll shut up now."
That was after Miss Q heard him still saying something and said it sounded an awful lot like "I want to sit by myself during Art."
After and not before some drama.
Fate, surprise of surprises, was actually the innocent party this time.
Ok, well there's no such thing as an innocent part in a 4th grade argument, but it wasn't Fate that Miss Q was slightly miffed at today. Fate had continually looked at Miss Q despairingly for what to do. As if to say, "You see? I really am trying. He is making me so mad. What should I do."
But The Gage had been offended. And when you offend The Gage he becomes like some kind of animal that will. not. budge. This time after what seemed like a civil discussion with Fate about why she didn't get the leadership position she wanted, The Gage started to bug her. Miss Q probably made it worse. I mean annoying Fate and getting Miss Q in a tizzy? Oh what fun! When Fate tried to sit somewhere, he followed her. Miss Q got up in his face, and afterward he sat down and changed the subject. Miss Q knew he still hadn't gotten the point so she tried a different route.
"I know you can act nicer than that. It makes me sad to see you act like that."
"No, I can't. Liar."
The Gage likes to get away with things. Miss Q finds it sort of easy not to take it personally, since he's like that with everyone. But today was a bit more intense (inside Miss Q's head if not in her actions) because she felt like she just had to get him to leave Fate alone.
Fate did good that day. Miss Q encouraged her through The Gage's pestering. What killed Miss Q was that he wasn't content to let her steam in the corner. He wanted to see her get upset. How frustrating. But if that were a test, then Fate would have somewhat passed.
Wow. Miss Q, now that you think about it, what does that mean? The Gage wanted to see Fate lose her cool. So what must you not do around The Gage?
While The Gage is very loveable, and has fun with Miss Q, he still has these moments where nothing seems to bother him when it comes to him doing what he wants. Also, Miss Q realized that he is a great influence on Mook. Mook is very compliant without the presence of The Gage, then those are the times when he seems to get the guts to not follow directions.
Miss Q wonders how she could have handled it better. One thing she tends to do is just sit there and watch the turtles when they start to argue to see how they handle it. Perhaps not such a good idea?
In another blog I should write about these special appearances and antics of other Teacher Cadets. For example, Lady Finch.
Miss Q: Trying to get her bathroom stragglers, Mook, The Gage, Fate, and Nala to go to the room. Mentally focused on avoiding power struggle.
Lady Finch: Hi Miss Q!
Miss Q: Wha? Oh Hi!!
Lady Finch stepped in for a moment. But here's the funny part. After she left:
Zefron: "Why did that Lady say she's read about me?"
Miss Q: "Umm... she's crazy?"
Zefron: "Ok."
Honestly, Lady Finch. It was the only thing Miss Q could come up with.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
2/16/11: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: It All Hangs Out (Blog 4)
Miss Q's about to give you an honest breakdown of what went on today. The sitch. The skinny. Things that were good and some things that make me wonder if I was thinking at all? It's weird to write it. You usually don't think. You react.
Yesterday afternoon I had one of those fits of inspiration. They come in short creative bursts and I entertain some really awful ideas For instance, ever fought out an argument in your head? The scene goes off flawlessly as you script your artful version of Telling Someone Off. You're furious and angry but somehow your reasoning is flawless. Finally you hear a chorus of amens as your opponent goes to eat their humble pie.
Yeah, not that kind of idea this time. It never goes down like that in real life anyway.
This time I was thinking about how the turtles act at lunch. Some, like Princesstard, Nancy Drew and Mariska, talk quietly amongst themselves. Or you know, semi-quiet. However, once they finish eating they start to argue, get loud, mess with their food, roughhouse and flick cake at each other. Just like high school.
Obviously part of it is that they're bored out of their minds sitting there. Do they not find each other interesting enough?
So naturally, the answer is to hit them with Honors Civics and Spanish 2 material.
I really enjoyed picturing their brains fry trying to name the three branches of government and any ridiculously hard questions I could come up with. Hee hee hee.
"Come on guys, you need to know this stuff." Why, you ask?
In my world, it'd turn out exactly like that. But even besides those reasons, I think it was because I was getting too comfortable.
Now, I can see from the point of view of some of the older cadets. I'm not as professional yet, but once you get used to a classroom and get familiar, you see just how much more opportunity is there. I can see how they get their drive but still feel the need to be tough on themselves. With so many different things, I start to feel like I'm not even doing 10 % of what I could be doing. Like I'm shooting basketballs turned around backwards with my eyes closed.
It doesn't dishearten me, but with the idea in mind, I felt that much more excited about trying it the next day.
Because in Civics, we were watching a movie, I decided my crazy challenge would come from Spanish 2.
Todos los dias, Zefron le gusta dar Mariska un abrazo enorme.
Now kids, translate that. Yes, I'm crazy.
However, the thing I like about Spanish is that it can be so intuitive. Suppose you've never even taken Spanish. What does the word enorme look like? Or un. what number in English looks like un? Dias? What could I possibly be talking about?
The Spanish word for arms is brazos. What could an abrazo be?
When I arrive, SkinnyJeanz is the first to call me and come running for a hug. From far off I might have heard Nala shout out Miss Q but I wasn't sure.
About three conversations were going at once. Nala was all abuzz about how our outfits matched (me with my black dress and patterned tights and her with her lacy ruffled black skirt), Idaho was going on about... something (forgive me! I no one else is guilty of failing to cherish all the precious words that come out of their mouths but sometimes I am.) And none of it came out clear because I was looking at Fate and CP.
Fate had become Lucy the trick-doing cat of many languages with CP as her owner. I was real glad Fate could consistently get along with someone.
"Lucy!" CP was pretty darn commanding. "Now, speak frrrench." she said, rolling her r's masterfully.
"Banuladeiuuuu!"
Huh?
Now would be a good time to say: And speaking of languages, lets hop to lunch time, but there's some foreshadowing to do.
Talking to Mariska and Copilot, two of the three redheads in the class, I learned a not-so-surprising fact.
"Mariska likes Zefron!" he announced, all charm with his big smile and military haircut.
"Really? How shocking!" I said, insinuating the opposite.
I mean, what was not to like about Zefron? He's intelligent, outgoing, has warm brown eyes, and a good sense of humor. And hadn't her two bff's, Princesstard and Nancy Drew arranged the whole "forcing"-him-to-say-he-liked-her thing?
"You must be a pretty trusted friend for such a secret right?"
"No." Mariska shrugged. "He'll tell him."
"Yep. He's my friend."
It was part of the guy code.
"He does know already."
"I know. You liked him in second grade too!"
Have you figured out what my Spanish phrase translates to yet? Talk about a coincidence.
CP wasn't the only one about to teach languages.
Yesterday afternoon I had one of those fits of inspiration. They come in short creative bursts and I entertain some really awful ideas For instance, ever fought out an argument in your head? The scene goes off flawlessly as you script your artful version of Telling Someone Off. You're furious and angry but somehow your reasoning is flawless. Finally you hear a chorus of amens as your opponent goes to eat their humble pie.
Yeah, not that kind of idea this time. It never goes down like that in real life anyway.
This time I was thinking about how the turtles act at lunch. Some, like Princesstard, Nancy Drew and Mariska, talk quietly amongst themselves. Or you know, semi-quiet. However, once they finish eating they start to argue, get loud, mess with their food, roughhouse and flick cake at each other. Just like high school.
Obviously part of it is that they're bored out of their minds sitting there. Do they not find each other interesting enough?
So naturally, the answer is to hit them with Honors Civics and Spanish 2 material.
I really enjoyed picturing their brains fry trying to name the three branches of government and any ridiculously hard questions I could come up with. Hee hee hee.
"Come on guys, you need to know this stuff." Why, you ask?
- It would keep them occupied. Grandma used to say the idle mind is the devil's workshop.
- They'd like the challenge. They're just crazy enough to go for it. Fourth graders are fearless. They can do anything.
- I'd feel like I'd actually be teaching them something instead of distracting them. Maybe broaden their minds so that they reach for knowing things about the government and conjugating verbs in Spanish.
- I'd make sure that when they got to High School, they'd be ready.
- When my Civics teacher sees that some of her students are beasting at Civics concepts already, they'll say," Oh. That's 'cause Miss Q taught me." Then she'll go, "Oh. Well, of course Miss Q. I mean naturally."
In my world, it'd turn out exactly like that. But even besides those reasons, I think it was because I was getting too comfortable.
Now, I can see from the point of view of some of the older cadets. I'm not as professional yet, but once you get used to a classroom and get familiar, you see just how much more opportunity is there. I can see how they get their drive but still feel the need to be tough on themselves. With so many different things, I start to feel like I'm not even doing 10 % of what I could be doing. Like I'm shooting basketballs turned around backwards with my eyes closed.
It doesn't dishearten me, but with the idea in mind, I felt that much more excited about trying it the next day.
Because in Civics, we were watching a movie, I decided my crazy challenge would come from Spanish 2.
Todos los dias, Zefron le gusta dar Mariska un abrazo enorme.
Now kids, translate that. Yes, I'm crazy.
However, the thing I like about Spanish is that it can be so intuitive. Suppose you've never even taken Spanish. What does the word enorme look like? Or un. what number in English looks like un? Dias? What could I possibly be talking about?
The Spanish word for arms is brazos. What could an abrazo be?
When I arrive, SkinnyJeanz is the first to call me and come running for a hug. From far off I might have heard Nala shout out Miss Q but I wasn't sure.
About three conversations were going at once. Nala was all abuzz about how our outfits matched (me with my black dress and patterned tights and her with her lacy ruffled black skirt), Idaho was going on about... something (forgive me! I no one else is guilty of failing to cherish all the precious words that come out of their mouths but sometimes I am.) And none of it came out clear because I was looking at Fate and CP.
Fate had become Lucy the trick-doing cat of many languages with CP as her owner. I was real glad Fate could consistently get along with someone.
"Lucy!" CP was pretty darn commanding. "Now, speak frrrench." she said, rolling her r's masterfully.
"Banuladeiuuuu!"
Huh?
Now would be a good time to say: And speaking of languages, lets hop to lunch time, but there's some foreshadowing to do.
Talking to Mariska and Copilot, two of the three redheads in the class, I learned a not-so-surprising fact.
"Mariska likes Zefron!" he announced, all charm with his big smile and military haircut.
"Really? How shocking!" I said, insinuating the opposite.
I mean, what was not to like about Zefron? He's intelligent, outgoing, has warm brown eyes, and a good sense of humor. And hadn't her two bff's, Princesstard and Nancy Drew arranged the whole "forcing"-him-to-say-he-liked-her thing?
"You must be a pretty trusted friend for such a secret right?"
"No." Mariska shrugged. "He'll tell him."
"Yep. He's my friend."
It was part of the guy code.
"He does know already."
"I know. You liked him in second grade too!"
Have you figured out what my Spanish phrase translates to yet? Talk about a coincidence.
CP wasn't the only one about to teach languages.
The Good:
Because some of the awkward turtles were watching Tuck Everlasting, I was in charge of twelve. Sitting with Fruitbat, Nala, Idaho, and Fate, I sprang into action as soon as I saw that first ranch dressing get passed on across the table.
"Alright guys. I am tired of watching you guys pick your noses and throw cake at each other." Don't say stuff like this if you know you have no sense of humor.
Giggles.
"You're mean, Miss Q." remarked Idaho.
"That's right. Whoever can help each other figure out this Spanish phrase gets a sheet of paper from my notebook." I said with lots of brovado.
Somehow they ate this up. Idaho had gotten one earlier for being the first to locate Mrs. Bridington for me (hey she felt like she should get a prize, that's what I came up with). They still would have done it without a prize.
When I read the phrase, I immediately had their attention. I knew I had to give them a lot of clues, but they were quick to catch on. What suprised me was that Nala, usually softspoken and distracted, seemed to catch on the quickest.
"What does the word dias sound like?"
"Dolls?"
"Daffodils?"
"Days." said Nala.
Amidst all the guesses, it was Nala who got that enorme meant huge before I gave a hint about it. She figure the sentence was something like Every day, Zefron likes to something a huge smile.
This fascinates me because I know in order to make the connection, you can relate the word to enormous, which is not something everyone does when learning languages. Like me, with chemistry, some people have to repeat concepts again and again to understand. Nala made the connection before I gave the translation:
Every day, Zefron likes to give Mariska a big hug.
They really caught on with it being Zefron and Mariska. They're a perceptive bunch. Honestly, when I came up with it, it was more to poke fun at Zefron than having to do with Mariska's crush.
Gave Boo a compliment. He smiled. Quiet doesn't seem like a way of hiding for him. It's just his way of experiencing things.
When Nala passed out her late Valentines, Dubby took his lollipop and in his hands, it became an eye wrench. Remember when I said Dubby could stick his toungue out and touch the back of his head? He just seems to have a different way of looking at things.
The Bad:
I hate the smell of hard boiled eggs. I told them so and they made sure to give me a whiff.
Are The Gage, Freakazoid and Mook not supposed to sit together or what? Why does no one know for sure?
When I took my twelve turtles to the water fountain, Idaho and Nala preferred to lean on the wall by me instead of getting in line.
"Why aren't you listening to me? You tell other people to listen?" I asked Idaho, gently.
They seemed to look at me like 'oh Miss Q, you know you like me too much to really mean for me to get my tail back in line', but they got it eventually. At that point you stop smiling, ignore their conversation, and stick to your guns.
The Gage is interesting. He talks to me just fine but he likes to show that he can do his own thing. During cursive, I watched him flip through the finished papers stacked in the middle.
"I want mine on top!" he said, despite there being no talking. As we walked into art, he and Nala hopped into chairs next to me when everyone else sat on the carpet.
"This is my seat."
And Nala just had to sit in a seat because she was wearing a skirt. The art teacher didn't go for that. When they still didn't move, I volunteered, "I'll sit on the carpet." I like sitting with them. Ladylike, with legs tucked under. Immediately, Nala hops off the seat to sit beside me, imitating my position.
The Gage looked doubtful.
"Wanna sit here? We'll miss you."
I'd hoped that by sitting down, I demonstrated that sitting in the big chair didn't make you All That. Now he was sitting by himself. His eyes seemed to say he was about to come sit but when he got up he got called on to help with art supplies.
He also talked at random, blurting out and earning the class silent lunch. The looks Solomon, Dubby, and Co-pilot flung back at him were so perfectly 'way-to-go', too.
I don't know why The Gage seems to needs do things The Gage Way like that. I usually think if you feel like you need your paper to be on top, it's really because you think yours is on the bottom. Hmm.
Why is The Brit sitting at the front of the class? He and Dexter are usually models of good behavior.
The Ugly:
That day, Miss Q was waiting for Los Compadres to be on their merry way to Anderson so she could play a trick on them. She ended up failing miserably.
Seeing Ms. Odd in her office, I made a secretive shush sign, as I waited for their approach. When I heard footsteps I jumped out from the side but instead of a scared Ar-bear and Stew, there was only a confused Hispanic girl. Mr. German, who just happened to walk by, had a nice laugh on his way around the corner.
What the heck, Miss Q?
The teaching companions were, of course, several paces behind the girl. Too smug, as if to say they were used to and could always easily avoid Miss Q's crazyness. Ay ay ay.
Fate was in one of her moods today. She might have managed to offend everyone.
Miss Q made a blunder and asked Fruitbat how many she had invited to her upcoming sleepover that Saturday, failing to notice how she purposely sat a seat apart from Fate. On my left was Idaho, whom I knew had been invited.
"I'm not allowed to talk about it." said Fruitbat.
"Why?" (Ugh. Shut up!)
She thumbed in Fate's direction. That got her started.
"See? Everyone hates me."
Earlier she told me that my lil buddy from Miss Beautiful and Big L's class had started liking her, but now hated her again. Oh boy.
"Mook even admitted he hates me." Mook looked apologetic.
"We can't help our feelings."
At the same time Nala, tired of Fate's dramatics, started nosing into my notebook, her dark eyes no doubt resting on the scribble reading: she hates me again.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing."
Evasive action.
Fate while snappish, is very protective of me. I watched her glare at Nala as she tried to peek into my notebook.
"Excuse me? Why are you being so nosy?" her voice took on a nasty tone I didn't like. I didn't think this at the time but where could she have learned that tone from? It didn't seem very childlike.
Nala, usually shrugging affably at Fate's abuse, got angry this time.
"You were were nosy in So-and-so's class!" and back and forth. But Fate was so abrasive with it, I told her to come talk to me.
"How come every time you get angry you feel like you can be nasty to people like its nothing?" I asked.
"Well, I don't know." she said, referring to her anger issues."I was just trying to help."
After explaining that I could handle it and wanted her to worry about being nice, I asked if she could give Nala an apology and she agreed. Just like that.
"I'm sorry!" her look accused Nala from across the table. But she did want to say sorry.
"Do you accept her apology?"
And boys and girls do you know Nala kept staring at me and eating her cheesy broccoli?
"I'm gonna keep on bein' mean since you didn't accept my 'pology!" Fate decided.
"You got a lot more stuff to apologize for!"
This was Nala's explanation to me for not accepting. "I tried to be nice to her but..."
I said a lot of things, but it felt like I was saying nothing. One of you has to be nice first. The point of an apology is is for the other person, not you. Blah blah.
Fate wants to be the bigger person. She likes to say "I'm going to do the smart thing and end it." But the way she says it usually starts everything back up again.
When fate brings drama, there will be drama. As I write this, my mom and I talk, going back to the days when I too had best friends that would be mad at me and make up with me the next day. I was dramatic and had no perspective too. So I can't help but have a little grace when looking at Fate.
What can I teach her though? That she's overdramatic, selfish, and insecure? How is she different from anyone else in that case? She's also nine. In elementary I remember being melodramatic but I never felt so persecuted and defensice towards all my classmates like she is. How did I learn to deal with things differently? Time? Experience? Constant teaching? Grace.
But she listens to me. I see her eyes when she's unsure what to do and something nasty she was about to say gets held back in her mouth. Just like when I saw Freakazoid's eyes looking back at me in Art, watching me to see if I notice how quiet he's being. I made sure to mention some of that when I talked to her.
Freakazoid is a different matter.
"Freakazoid wants to go on a date with you!"
"No I don't!"
Whether he did or not, I just love him. I mess with him sometimes and while he used to act out towards me, he now acts sweet. Almost like the tables have switched.
There you have it.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Happy V Day! (Blog 3)
If there are 10 copycats on a branch and one falls off, how many are left?
Freakazoid has to learn to get up earlier in the morning to get Miss Q with that one. Especially if she overheard Solomon trick him earlier.
Miss Q's awkward turtles (as she like to call them) are full of riddles and questions.
CP just wanted to know if Miss Q had told "all the boys and girls over there" about the Chinese lessons she had been giving. Miss Q nodded, even though she couldn't quite remember if shedid or not.
" Can my codename be Cheerio?" asked Fruitbat.
"Guess what I watched last night?" asked Freakazoid.
"Is that for me?" asked Nala, referring to my Spongebob Valentines.
It gets a little hard to keep up with.
Miss Q was tired, but together with Big L and his complex basketball game Valentines, managed to get excited.
The awkward turtles were outside. Miz was overseeing a ball passing game with some of the rowdier boys, which included Beancurd and Freakazoid. Uniqua, and some other girls I met were watching.
After chatting for a bit, one side of Miz Boss' lip curled upward. Miss Q had long ago recognized that this was Miz Boss' way of saying something ought to change. Miz Boss' daughter, who sits behind her in Civics does the same thing. Only slightly curled this time, though.
"Want me to get 'em away?" Miss Q offered?
"Sure."
As Miss Q approached some of the girls in the classm they immidiately moved away. She manged to organize two races before it was time to go in for lunch.
At lunch, she was a bit overwhelmed by how loud some of them were. Afterward she would wonder if there was a better way to get them to quiet down.
When they're lining up, it seemed easier to get their attention and to ask "Where are my awkward turtles." Then they knew they were being Looked At, so they held up their respect signs or did their awkward turtles to show off their good behavior.
But at lunch, they liked to act silly. When they were laughing and having fun, it was hard for her to want to talk to them and want them to be quiet.
But today she just wanted them to be quiet.
As they lined up, just as Miss Q was about to ask for her Awkward Turtles, an angry teacher came up. She meant business:
"What kind of example are you setting for these younger kids in here? I've had some of you last year and I know your parents would be upset with you..."
It worked. Accept Memphis was hyper and he and Nala were kicking at each others feet. Miss Q was about to walk toward them when Lady Justice swooped in again.
She grabbed his shoulder and turned him aside, forcing him to face her.
"After I just spoke to your class? Really? How about we act our ages."
Memphis just stood there and hung his shoulders. The turtles were solemn after that. What's the word for it? Repentant? Compliant?
Afterward Miss Q wondered, what if she wasn't mean enough? Maybe she had to make her tone more direct to get their attention. She pictured herself, eyes and face hard, voice srict and commanding. She could do that, right? Easy.
But wait. Lady Finch almost never got angry and neither did Mr. German.
Now she really had a lot to think about.
Miss Q slipped the Valentines into little Froggie Bags that the Awkward turtles had made just for the occasion. They were really excited to get them.
She thought about each of them.
Some of her most consistent relationships were with Freakazoid, Fruitbat, Fate, CP, Nala, and Zefron. These are the ones that go out of her way to get her attention every day.
"Hey Freakazoid are you gonna sing Justin Beiber for me today?" Miz Boss' daughter informed her that he had sung to her. And if you squint your eye he kind of looks like him too.
"DNooo." He seemed embarrassed. But it was soo cute. He likes to tell Miss Q all the cringeworthy stuff he does over the weekend, with all the confidence of someone who knows you can't really do anything about it.
"I'll whisper it in your ear okay?"
He and the Gage watched the Excorcist.
Gah
That's Freakazoid, a roughhouser, a joker, a teaser, an all around boy.
Fruitbat is quiet, thoughtful, and loves all things quirky. Miss Q had to keep her from reading a Horror Encyclopedia during Math.
Miss Q didn't mention Solomon, but she loves to talk to him because he says some pretty deep things from time to time. She should probably record them more. He once found a typo in the dictionary, and Miss Q
wanted to send a letter to the publisher.
CP is extremely enthusiastic about school. She gives me language lessons and demands full attention. But she's also considered weird by a lot of the other class. They avoid her. She doesn't seem to mind, though. She clings to me, though
Nala is quiet and gets nervous about work. She's been held back a grade. Neither of her parents live at home with her, and her mother calls her to check her homework.
Zefron has been talking to Miss Q a lot lately. He's the ladies man. Not that he doesn't try to pretend that it's torture. His fan club includes Mariska, Nancy Drew, and Princesstard, a trio of ladylike intellectuals. They banter across the lunch table.
Boo is still quiet. Involved and open with Zefron, but an unlockable puzzle to Miss Q.
Q-Tip of the Day: What do you do do when you have a conflict?
Fate: "You go tell the teacher and tell you you're going to be the smart one and walk away!"
Q: How bout this? Go tell the teacher. Calm down and forgive them first. And then go confront them. That's for the future because when you get older, people don't do this a lot.
Fate is my stalker child. She rubs people the wrong way. She can be bossy. Snappish. But she's probably the one that Miss Q's the most invested in. There's a lot of promise in her smile.
Freakazoid has to learn to get up earlier in the morning to get Miss Q with that one. Especially if she overheard Solomon trick him earlier.
Miss Q's awkward turtles (as she like to call them) are full of riddles and questions.
CP just wanted to know if Miss Q had told "all the boys and girls over there" about the Chinese lessons she had been giving. Miss Q nodded, even though she couldn't quite remember if shedid or not.
" Can my codename be Cheerio?" asked Fruitbat.
"Guess what I watched last night?" asked Freakazoid.
"Is that for me?" asked Nala, referring to my Spongebob Valentines.
It gets a little hard to keep up with.
Miss Q was tired, but together with Big L and his complex basketball game Valentines, managed to get excited.
The awkward turtles were outside. Miz was overseeing a ball passing game with some of the rowdier boys, which included Beancurd and Freakazoid. Uniqua, and some other girls I met were watching.
After chatting for a bit, one side of Miz Boss' lip curled upward. Miss Q had long ago recognized that this was Miz Boss' way of saying something ought to change. Miz Boss' daughter, who sits behind her in Civics does the same thing. Only slightly curled this time, though.
"Want me to get 'em away?" Miss Q offered?
"Sure."
As Miss Q approached some of the girls in the classm they immidiately moved away. She manged to organize two races before it was time to go in for lunch.
At lunch, she was a bit overwhelmed by how loud some of them were. Afterward she would wonder if there was a better way to get them to quiet down.
When they're lining up, it seemed easier to get their attention and to ask "Where are my awkward turtles." Then they knew they were being Looked At, so they held up their respect signs or did their awkward turtles to show off their good behavior.
But at lunch, they liked to act silly. When they were laughing and having fun, it was hard for her to want to talk to them and want them to be quiet.
But today she just wanted them to be quiet.
As they lined up, just as Miss Q was about to ask for her Awkward Turtles, an angry teacher came up. She meant business:
"What kind of example are you setting for these younger kids in here? I've had some of you last year and I know your parents would be upset with you..."
It worked. Accept Memphis was hyper and he and Nala were kicking at each others feet. Miss Q was about to walk toward them when Lady Justice swooped in again.
She grabbed his shoulder and turned him aside, forcing him to face her.
"After I just spoke to your class? Really? How about we act our ages."
Memphis just stood there and hung his shoulders. The turtles were solemn after that. What's the word for it? Repentant? Compliant?
Afterward Miss Q wondered, what if she wasn't mean enough? Maybe she had to make her tone more direct to get their attention. She pictured herself, eyes and face hard, voice srict and commanding. She could do that, right? Easy.
But wait. Lady Finch almost never got angry and neither did Mr. German.
Now she really had a lot to think about.
Miss Q slipped the Valentines into little Froggie Bags that the Awkward turtles had made just for the occasion. They were really excited to get them.
She thought about each of them.
Some of her most consistent relationships were with Freakazoid, Fruitbat, Fate, CP, Nala, and Zefron. These are the ones that go out of her way to get her attention every day.
"Hey Freakazoid are you gonna sing Justin Beiber for me today?" Miz Boss' daughter informed her that he had sung to her. And if you squint your eye he kind of looks like him too.
"DNooo." He seemed embarrassed. But it was soo cute. He likes to tell Miss Q all the cringeworthy stuff he does over the weekend, with all the confidence of someone who knows you can't really do anything about it.
"I'll whisper it in your ear okay?"
He and the Gage watched the Excorcist.
Gah
That's Freakazoid, a roughhouser, a joker, a teaser, an all around boy.
Fruitbat is quiet, thoughtful, and loves all things quirky. Miss Q had to keep her from reading a Horror Encyclopedia during Math.
Miss Q didn't mention Solomon, but she loves to talk to him because he says some pretty deep things from time to time. She should probably record them more. He once found a typo in the dictionary, and Miss Q
wanted to send a letter to the publisher.
CP is extremely enthusiastic about school. She gives me language lessons and demands full attention. But she's also considered weird by a lot of the other class. They avoid her. She doesn't seem to mind, though. She clings to me, though
Nala is quiet and gets nervous about work. She's been held back a grade. Neither of her parents live at home with her, and her mother calls her to check her homework.
Zefron has been talking to Miss Q a lot lately. He's the ladies man. Not that he doesn't try to pretend that it's torture. His fan club includes Mariska, Nancy Drew, and Princesstard, a trio of ladylike intellectuals. They banter across the lunch table.
Boo is still quiet. Involved and open with Zefron, but an unlockable puzzle to Miss Q.
Q-Tip of the Day: What do you do do when you have a conflict?
Fate: "You go tell the teacher and tell you you're going to be the smart one and walk away!"
Q: How bout this? Go tell the teacher. Calm down and forgive them first. And then go confront them. That's for the future because when you get older, people don't do this a lot.
Fate is my stalker child. She rubs people the wrong way. She can be bossy. Snappish. But she's probably the one that Miss Q's the most invested in. There's a lot of promise in her smile.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
2/04/11: Puxatani Field Day? (Blog 1)
'Hopefully the stick I put in the door will still be there' thought Miss Q as she left the Ashley building.
The door was usually locked from the outside. You couldn't get back in and therefore you had to walk all the way to the front of the school to get back in for lunch. Not Miss Q. Hopefully, no one would remove the stick and no insane shooters would sneak in.
As always, the Anderson hallways were brightly lit and there was plenty of cheer to go around. Like a disease, it had even spread to the custodians. Elementary staff is like that.
By the time Miss Q arrived, Miz Boss was about to line the kids up for lunch. Miss Q wondered what would happened if she tried to walk in sort of nonchalantly. You know. Incognito.
"MISS Q!!"
Not Happening. When they lined up, Miss Q got to observe a great moment though. The Boss was not happy.
"I am sick and tired of gum chewing in this classroom. Really! I'm tired of asking. Miss Beiber, Monet, you have an N now." Aww man. Monet gave a huff. Miss Bieber as always had her usual sly look. The whole class was silent however. Miz Boss's bad side, though never loud or abrasive and carried out in a business-like tone, wasn't a comfy spot.
"I stopped Miz Boss. I haven't chewed any gum." said Beancurd, deciding it a good time to clear his name.
"No. Actually you did. I saw you yesterday."
'Shouldn't have said anything, Beancurd' thought Miss Q.
There would be some drama for her to try to sort out at lunch. However on the way to lunch, Nancy Drew had a fact to deliver.
"Happy Puxatanifield Day! (AKA Groundhog Day)" Miss Q made sure to write that down...
Isn't Groundhog day in the Spring?
"Miss Q, why is your hair so puffy?" CP (that stands for Class President), always with tons of enthusiasm, wanted to know.
Good question. Miss Q's curly afro was indeed something worth assessing. Miz Boss saved her though.
"What dya think happened to my hair. Yeah, wind. Wind." Haha.
Miss Q ended up dealing with plenty of drama at lunch.
Beancurd and Miss Beiber have an ongoing, intense, malicious and backbiting rivalry. Despite this, the two still prefer to always be near each other. Kind of like two cats who try to walk away but always go back because they refuse to leave their backs open.
Monet was also mad at Beancurd for being a 'snitch'. Miss Q felt she did a pretty good job of handling that one.
"...So who's fault is it you got in trouble?"
A huff.
"Mine." she admitted. Miss Q was proud of Monet's humility... odd as that sounds.
"So can we give Beancurd a break?"
"Yes..."
After that, Miss Q was kept busy all throughout lunch trying to distract Beancurd from his focus on Miss Beiber. He actually came and sat next to Miss Q to explain what was going on. She did her best to point out that for every three "she did this"s he had sneakily snuck in something he had done to keep the drama going.
"So what should you do next time?" asked Miss Q
"Tell the teacher. But I did and she kept..."
So then Miss Q decided to help him calm down by distracting him. Turn around Beancurd. That's right. So, you go to the Mustard Seed?
The Mustard Seed is where Miss Q wants to work during the summer. She considers it an extenstion of her childhood afterschool program, the Brigade Boys and Girls club, because it's run by the same people. Fate, who sat across from me, simply wasn't invested in all the drama. We did get some discussion in about the Mustard Seed (Fate goes there) and she said she would beg the people to let me work there.
Miss Q loves Fate very much.
Fate loves attention, but at least she interrupted politely. Lately, Miss Q had been teaching the chilluns to say "Excuse me", when they simply can't hold in their statements.
Miss Q ought to watch Miss Bieber though. By almost all accounts she seems to be the center of most of the trouble. By the time she gets to her, she's all sly smile, half-lidded eyes, and a shrug.
Miz Boss had one last message for everyone when they got back:
Don't get mad because you got caught. Tattling, chewing gum, and name-calling are not cool. It's wrong to tattle but it's also wrong to break the rule to begin with. Now, were done. I'm very upset with you.
Now notice why Miss Q loves Miz Boss. The kids look at her almost like you would a court judge or someone completely trustworthy. She doesn't go for excuses. Miz Boss often becomes the Overseer of Justice in sticky situations. But just from watching her, Miss Q has learned to imitate that quality. During lunch, Miss Q began to pull out kids to talk to them, and she became the Overseer of Justice. But the most amazing thing was that Miss Q, despite only being Miss Q, had earned the right to judge somehow.
Somewhere along the way, she had become trustworthy enough to handle the great complaint of She's Talking About Me.
Even now, Miss Q sort of puffs out her chest. "Of course they come to me." she insists. "They know I watch them. They know they better have their stories straight."
Of course, Miss Beiber and Beancurd will probably still be at it the next day.
"I saw you say something to him, Miss Beiber. I hope it was nice!"
The door was usually locked from the outside. You couldn't get back in and therefore you had to walk all the way to the front of the school to get back in for lunch. Not Miss Q. Hopefully, no one would remove the stick and no insane shooters would sneak in.
As always, the Anderson hallways were brightly lit and there was plenty of cheer to go around. Like a disease, it had even spread to the custodians. Elementary staff is like that.
By the time Miss Q arrived, Miz Boss was about to line the kids up for lunch. Miss Q wondered what would happened if she tried to walk in sort of nonchalantly. You know. Incognito.
"MISS Q!!"
Not Happening. When they lined up, Miss Q got to observe a great moment though. The Boss was not happy.
"I am sick and tired of gum chewing in this classroom. Really! I'm tired of asking. Miss Beiber, Monet, you have an N now." Aww man. Monet gave a huff. Miss Bieber as always had her usual sly look. The whole class was silent however. Miz Boss's bad side, though never loud or abrasive and carried out in a business-like tone, wasn't a comfy spot.
"I stopped Miz Boss. I haven't chewed any gum." said Beancurd, deciding it a good time to clear his name.
"No. Actually you did. I saw you yesterday."
'Shouldn't have said anything, Beancurd' thought Miss Q.
There would be some drama for her to try to sort out at lunch. However on the way to lunch, Nancy Drew had a fact to deliver.
"Happy Puxatanifield Day! (AKA Groundhog Day)" Miss Q made sure to write that down...
Isn't Groundhog day in the Spring?
"Miss Q, why is your hair so puffy?" CP (that stands for Class President), always with tons of enthusiasm, wanted to know.
Good question. Miss Q's curly afro was indeed something worth assessing. Miz Boss saved her though.
"What dya think happened to my hair. Yeah, wind. Wind." Haha.
Miss Q ended up dealing with plenty of drama at lunch.
Beancurd and Miss Beiber have an ongoing, intense, malicious and backbiting rivalry. Despite this, the two still prefer to always be near each other. Kind of like two cats who try to walk away but always go back because they refuse to leave their backs open.
Monet was also mad at Beancurd for being a 'snitch'. Miss Q felt she did a pretty good job of handling that one.
"...So who's fault is it you got in trouble?"
A huff.
"Mine." she admitted. Miss Q was proud of Monet's humility... odd as that sounds.
"So can we give Beancurd a break?"
"Yes..."
After that, Miss Q was kept busy all throughout lunch trying to distract Beancurd from his focus on Miss Beiber. He actually came and sat next to Miss Q to explain what was going on. She did her best to point out that for every three "she did this"s he had sneakily snuck in something he had done to keep the drama going.
"So what should you do next time?" asked Miss Q
"Tell the teacher. But I did and she kept..."
So then Miss Q decided to help him calm down by distracting him. Turn around Beancurd. That's right. So, you go to the Mustard Seed?
The Mustard Seed is where Miss Q wants to work during the summer. She considers it an extenstion of her childhood afterschool program, the Brigade Boys and Girls club, because it's run by the same people. Fate, who sat across from me, simply wasn't invested in all the drama. We did get some discussion in about the Mustard Seed (Fate goes there) and she said she would beg the people to let me work there.
Miss Q loves Fate very much.
Fate loves attention, but at least she interrupted politely. Lately, Miss Q had been teaching the chilluns to say "Excuse me", when they simply can't hold in their statements.
Miss Q ought to watch Miss Bieber though. By almost all accounts she seems to be the center of most of the trouble. By the time she gets to her, she's all sly smile, half-lidded eyes, and a shrug.
Miz Boss had one last message for everyone when they got back:
Don't get mad because you got caught. Tattling, chewing gum, and name-calling are not cool. It's wrong to tattle but it's also wrong to break the rule to begin with. Now, were done. I'm very upset with you.
Now notice why Miss Q loves Miz Boss. The kids look at her almost like you would a court judge or someone completely trustworthy. She doesn't go for excuses. Miz Boss often becomes the Overseer of Justice in sticky situations. But just from watching her, Miss Q has learned to imitate that quality. During lunch, Miss Q began to pull out kids to talk to them, and she became the Overseer of Justice. But the most amazing thing was that Miss Q, despite only being Miss Q, had earned the right to judge somehow.
Somewhere along the way, she had become trustworthy enough to handle the great complaint of She's Talking About Me.
Even now, Miss Q sort of puffs out her chest. "Of course they come to me." she insists. "They know I watch them. They know they better have their stories straight."
Of course, Miss Beiber and Beancurd will probably still be at it the next day.
"I saw you say something to him, Miss Beiber. I hope it was nice!"
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