In college one of my friends would often say, "Did that just happen?" after a particularly strange conversation or experience. It quickly caught on as a catchphrase for my group of friends, and we found plenty of opportunities to use it. I have a lot of "Did that just happen?" moments at school, but unfortunately there's not usually another adult for me to ask or laugh with. One of the many reasons I loved having Linda in my room last year as an aide was that I'd feel better or more sane just making eye contact with her after something bizarre happened, like a child saying something ridiculous. Like last year when a girl in my class proudly declared that she'd hit the gym teacher, Mr. Jeff, with a tennis ball...in the vagina! She practically screamed the last part and thought she was something special, and I didn't have the heart to inform her, no, that's not quite right. Anyway, Linda promptly dismissed herself from the carpet to laugh hysterically in a corner while I had to try to continue with my lesson, every 30 seconds or so letting out a stifled, strange sounding laugh while I taught about nickels and dimes. It's a little sad to not have another adult to share these kind of moments with, and of course it's not the same to tell about them later.
But that's not really what I wanted to write about. I had a "Did that just happen?" moment on Thursday morning, but it wasn't a funny one. It was a quiet, grey, and cloudy morning. The school is around a building project with new townhouses, so although the neighborhood isn't actually that safe, it looks like it would be right around the school. I was walking my class to music from our bungalow to the cafeteria in the main building. I came at the end of the line, and I realized, oh my gosh, a jump-out is happening about 20 feet from my class. In case you don't know (cause I didn't until last year), a jump-out is when an unmarked van full of police officers pulls over, and they all run out and either arrest someone or surround a house. In this case they were surrounding the house across the street. They were silent, so I'm almost positive none of the kids noticed. But still. It was strange. They all had guns. I guess no one was home, or they got the person really fast, cause they were gone when I walked back to my classroom less than 5 minutes later. (Side note: the music teacher and her husband, new volunteers to Urban Promise, have started bringing delicious breakfast treats for the teachers some weeks; this week I got a big chocolate chip muffin, which made my day!!)
I guess I don't really have much to say about the jump-out except that it was strange. And I guess it's a good reminder that I need to be careful and aware, especially when I'm supervising my class. And I need to always lock my classroom door.
This week we are taking a field trip to an orchard. Field trips are very stressful for me. I have three parent chaperones, which is great, but also stresses me out a little because I still feel a little self-conscious around parents. But I'm praying it'll be fun.
Funny comment: this week one of my students who's prone to very bad attitudes called another girl "spaghetti head." She, of course, got mad and told on him, and I told her not to worry about it cause it made no sense. And during a silent part of one of my lessons, he told someone very loudly that he was going to flush them down the toilet. Children when they are angry can be very funny. Irritating, but funny.
But that's not really what I wanted to write about. I had a "Did that just happen?" moment on Thursday morning, but it wasn't a funny one. It was a quiet, grey, and cloudy morning. The school is around a building project with new townhouses, so although the neighborhood isn't actually that safe, it looks like it would be right around the school. I was walking my class to music from our bungalow to the cafeteria in the main building. I came at the end of the line, and I realized, oh my gosh, a jump-out is happening about 20 feet from my class. In case you don't know (cause I didn't until last year), a jump-out is when an unmarked van full of police officers pulls over, and they all run out and either arrest someone or surround a house. In this case they were surrounding the house across the street. They were silent, so I'm almost positive none of the kids noticed. But still. It was strange. They all had guns. I guess no one was home, or they got the person really fast, cause they were gone when I walked back to my classroom less than 5 minutes later. (Side note: the music teacher and her husband, new volunteers to Urban Promise, have started bringing delicious breakfast treats for the teachers some weeks; this week I got a big chocolate chip muffin, which made my day!!)
I guess I don't really have much to say about the jump-out except that it was strange. And I guess it's a good reminder that I need to be careful and aware, especially when I'm supervising my class. And I need to always lock my classroom door.
This week we are taking a field trip to an orchard. Field trips are very stressful for me. I have three parent chaperones, which is great, but also stresses me out a little because I still feel a little self-conscious around parents. But I'm praying it'll be fun.
Funny comment: this week one of my students who's prone to very bad attitudes called another girl "spaghetti head." She, of course, got mad and told on him, and I told her not to worry about it cause it made no sense. And during a silent part of one of my lessons, he told someone very loudly that he was going to flush them down the toilet. Children when they are angry can be very funny. Irritating, but funny.
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