Went to Cayuga Nature Center again today. It rained all day. Hard. I got very wet. It rained through my two layer jacket (that I thought was water resistant), my long sleeved over-shirt, and it began to go through my t-shirt, too. I put the wet over-shirt back on, trying to delay the soakage. I do believe my scientific experiment was successful.
I had a brush with failure today, however. It wasn't clear cut, this failure, but it makes my stomach feel strange when I think about it.
I had five more groups of kids today. Some of them were great; some of them were, uh, not great. No matter how smart or how not smart they were, though, behavior was a big problem. It seemed to me that the smart kids tended to pay attention for a while and then they all lost focus at the same time. It's annoying, but it's easy enough to get them back on track.
When a group had distractions and different people noticed them at different times, it was impossible to get everyone looking in the same direction at once. That's something that bothers me a lot, people not paying attention when someone is talking to them. Pay attention in class, and mess around some other time. I sound like my father.
The last group of the day was either even less focused or I was more tired, or perhaps both. Judging by the teacher accompanying them, the first possibility is definitely a part of the equation.
I'd spoken to a couple of kids in the first three minutes of our stream-related seminar/activity. They started looking at me again, but I think their brains were on Swedish gummy fish rather than crayfish.
When Linda (the other stream team member) started talking, I started watching these kids like a hawk. I descended rapidly, closing in to cause fear and if fear was not enough, talons became exposed and they felt my wrath!
This was working pretty well. It would have worked better if we had more time to implement it. I had a slight derailment, though. Two of the three kids I'd scolded earlier were sticking their finger against the back of another kid's head.
They were poking him in the head!
Inappropriate behavior! This hawk came swooping in with talons out. I grabbed kid number one by the arms and said something like, "You don't need to poke him in the head." I was squeezing his arms a little, enough so that I could feel his muscles. I probably shouldn't have done that. Continuing in my arc, I brought my hand over to student number two's hand and got in the path of pokiness.
Kid number one looked up and to the side, not meeting my stare, the way my dogs do when they're being submissive but still ignoring me. He said, "But there was a bug on his head." Kid number two said the same thing.
I felt the wind go out from under my hawk wings. I retracted my talons. I said, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that was what you were doing."
Part of me feels guilty that I accused them of something that they weren't doing. Part of me is irritated that their behavior causes me to think the worst of them. I'm completely puzzled by how a bug would be removed from someone's head by pointing one finger. I'm embarassed that I jumped to the wrong conclusion.
I really want to blame someone for making me feel like a stink head. The teachers were sympathetic. They weren't terribly helpful, although most tried to be. Some of the kids, probably most, did their best. I'm not sure there is anyone to blame, though.
From my false alarm, however, I am going to draw this conclusion: I'm happiest when people listen to what I'm saying. If inspiring the desire to comply, even accidentally, helps my cause, I think I'll go with that activity.
First, sixth grade students.
Next, the world!
Posted by dotty at June 22, 2004 11:21 PM