The rest of the class sat silently, looking back and
forth between the rogue student and the teacher.
“How
do you know if we can’t do the assignment in two sentences?”
The teacher leaned back against the table at the
front of the class, the podium with the assignment in question on it, stood at
her right. The rest of the class sat at light grey desks grouped together in
quartets around the room. Hands and papers masked their amusement at the
interruption to their usually uneventful day.
“I’m
not saying you can’t do the assignment in two sentences but I am just going to
let you know that you are going to get a bad grade if you only write two
sentences”, the teacher’s flat voice conveyed her exhaustion expertly.
The student
stood among the desks, chest out and shoulders pushed back in a mock sense of
confidence. He fed off of the hidden smiles and quiet snickers. The louder they
became the taller he stood and the more the false sense of confidence moved
towards justified confidence. Seeing this the teacher stood at her full height,
moving towards the student causing the interruption. Speaking in her teacher
voice the teacher announced, “This is not a discussion. The assignment is that
you write a narrative story about a time when you learned a lesson. It has to
be at least two pages in length, double spaced and typed. That’s it.”
“But
why does it--”
“No.
That’s it”, countered the teacher.
Smiles and snickers were immediately stifled by the
tone of the teacher’s new found voice. With the silence the rogue student’s
shoulders sagged, his chest caved, his legs buckled and he sank into the navy
blue chair. The teacher finished passing out the rest of the assignment sheets and
walked the perimeter of the classroom, squashing the lingerings of an uprising
still brewing in the student’s minds. The teacher returned to the front of the
classroom with her shoulders pushed back, her chest pushed triumphantly forward
and her head held high.
Thank you for telling this story. It is well written with wonderful visual imagery in your choice of words, which make it easy to visualize the incident as it is occurring. I really like the language used that shows the confidence, and then transfer of, in the student which shits to the teacher, ie: "shoulders pushed back.." I find your story not only a great example of regaining control but also for retaining composure.
ReplyDeleteGage, Thank you for giving me this image. I think it is quite comical yet kind of scary to know a teacher really has that much power. It is something that happens all the time though, students challenging teachers. How do you handle these students? Well, this is one way that I think is very effective, INTIMIDATION! =) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGage,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this story! I loved the empowerment I got when I read the ending! The fact that you compared the student and his defeated demeanor, and the teacher and her new found authority, was magnificent! You did a good job allowing me to picture the students “snickering” in their gray desks, and the teacher rising to her full stature. The imagery in this story is pretty sweet! Thanks again!
Gage,
ReplyDeleteThat was not only a good story, but it will be empowering for any teacher that reads it. The imagery was great and I could see that student’s defiance as the story developed. I could also see the deflation as the teacher set things right. I think you did a great job at telling this story and I hope you stick with this genre for the next reflection.
Chris
I think that simply not accepting the confrontation is effective, refusing to puff out your chest and compare muscles, etc. It is too easy to rise to the challenge, especially when you're at constant odds to defend your authority. I think that simply "not accepting" the challenge is a deflation in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this story. Situations like the one you have described are something every teacher has to deal with at some point. I know that I am guilty of often being intimidated by students, as I don't like to be "mean" and force them to work. Your story gives a great example of how teachers can stick to their guns and keep the classroom under control. I loved the way you used vivid detail and dialogue to paint a great picture of the interaction. Thank you again!
ReplyDelete