Hey Teacher! Leave those kids alone!

I am officially, a mean teacher. Yes! It's true. As of 1:30 when Darian dubbed me as such. Is anyone really shocked that I went from being the B**** RA to the mean teacher? (Disclaimer: Not everyone felt this way, but even one is enough I suppose.)

To be honest, my current homeroom group is quite rough around the edges. This said less to make excuses and more to give some background. In an effort to get them on track and have some sense of classroom management, we've been spending a lot of our time rehashing and practicing procedures, respectful mannerisms, and the like. It is working, today though, during Renaissance, you couldn't tell.I ended up making them all sit in complete silence, not allowed to even breathe loudly (and it was after gym), no giggles, no smiles, nothing. Well Darian raises his hand and says, "Ms. Wagner, just so you know, you're mean." Without missing a beat, I reply, "Darian, just so you know, you haven't seen mean yet."

After that, the class went quite smoothly in comparison and the kids left for Phys. Ed. They returned wound up (as expected) and we went through it all over again. The Dean of Students wasn't too pleased with them himself, so he stepped in and spoke a few words with them before we resumed our reading class. As the students were reading, I was sending some kids to the bathroom to change from their Phys. Ed. gear to their uniforms.

Darian left, and very shortly after returned, he came right up to me and said, "Ms. Wagner ---- we have a problem." I said, "No, you have a problem, and you can solve it by putting your belogings into your locker and getting back to reading." At this point, he got really close to me and whispered, "No really. We have a problem...(pregnant pause as the whole class directs their attention to his hushed voice)...I split my pants."

That was it. That was the end. Finito. No more serious stuff. I was, no lie, hunched over in my chair trying my damnedest to control the escaping laughter to no avail. "MS. WAGNER, DON'T LAUGH..." But, it was too late, everyone was already off track and lost. Including the person in charge of classroom management.

Perhaps it's over-rated anyhow. Or perhaps that is what I'll be telling myself for the next few hours.