I found a dollar

NICK: Mr. B, I found a dollar under the table in the cafeteria. Can I keep it?
MR. B: Well, someone will be missing that dollar. Don't you think you should turn it in to the office?
NICK: But, I want to keep it.
MR. B: Haven't I told you about the Golden Rule? If you lost that dollar, wouldn't you want someone to turn it in?
NICK: Yeah, Mr. B, but you also told me that sometimes people learn their lessons the hard way.

Another Kindergarden Quote

Avory: Mr. Bowers, sometimes my brother treats me like a tiger.
Me: How does he do that?
Avory: He puts some meat on a stick and makes me eat it. Then he throws the stick and I chase it and bring it back.
Me: Thank you for sharing.

there's this kid

I AM SO UPSET!!!

There's this kid in 4th grade named "Kerry" who is so mean to her entire class that they hate her and treat her like trash. I don't know if she was mean to them first or they were mean to her first, but the situation has gotten out of control. I finally had enough, so we sat down and had a class meeting. I let them speak up one by one with the intention of clearing the air.

The first three people to speak all had issues with Kerry and were very rude to her. They took the class meeting as a chance to say mean things and be sassy. I finally had to stop the meeting.

I talked to the class about forgive or forget, products of their environment and choices. I told them that if someone hits me in the face and spits on me, I get to choose how I respond. I encouraged them to make good choices and think about the Golden Rule. I asked Kerry to listen to what their classmates were saying and ask herself if any of the things they were saying were valid. I have known her for a couple of years and she is kinda annoying, but she doesn't deserve to be treated like that.

I wasn't even able to have Drama with this class because of their lack of control. I hate days like this when I get so upset by the children. I feel like this class is full of hate and it rubs off on me and then I end up hating the class. I have to forgive or forget because I gotta teach them again in seven days. AAAAGHHHH!

Only Child No More

Whenever a kid comes up and tells me that their mom just had a baby, I ususally go through the same routine. I tell them that when they were a baby, their mom and dad had to watch them all the time to make sure they would grow up to be a wonderful person (I usually confirm this by asking, "You are a wonderful person, aren't you?").

Then I tell them that their parents will now have to do the same thing for their new baby. I say that if their parents aren't allowed to pay full attention to this new baby, that the kid will grow up wild and will drive me crazy when he or she comes to my school. In other words, don't be jealous--you got the same attention!

I also tell them, "This new baby is going to think that you are the coolest person in the world because you are their big brother or sister and you need to try to be an awesome big brother or sister to them. Sometimes they will drive you crazy, but just remember the Golden Rule. If you were a little kid and you were bothering your big brother, how would you like him to get you to stop. Would you like him to hold you down with his knees on your arms and drool spit down to your nose and then suck it back up right before it lands on your face until the time when the spit doesn't actually make it back into your big brothers' mouth and instead lands right on your face?"

OK, I don't actually tell them that last part, but that's what my big brother would do to me and I just want all the little brother abuse to STOP!!! PAUL, YOU WERE A BIG BULLY TO ME AND WHEN YOU GET TOO OLD TO BEAT ME UP, THERE WILL BE PAYBACK--but I still think you are the coolest person in the world.