Class Dismissed

Dismissal is the most difficult time of day. You would think that it would be something to look forward to, but not with the dragon dates. Last Friday was a half day.  I hate half days. The students were dismissed at 11:00. You might think I would look forward to a day when dragon breath goes home early and I have a nice, quiet afternoon to catch up on the ever-growing stack of paperwork I need to do. Not so. On half days, students come in at 7:00, eat breakfast, go to reading class for an hour and a half to take their spelling and vocabulary tests, and then have one more hour of class until lunch. I have to take them to the cafeteria by 10:30 to get a sack lunch that they promptly throw in the trash, and then we dismiss. Sounds like a piece of cake, huh?

Oh sure, you probably think that the students come in all nice and quiet, eat their breakfast like a civilized group of children, and then settle down and study for their test, right? You probably also think that they quietly work on their tests and I could actually sit down (gasp) and grade their spelling tests from last week, right? You probably think that these wonderful students walk in a quiet line to lunch and munch their apples and graham crackers and carrot sticks quietly, then walk to the buses ready for the weekend and smiling and waving as they get on the bus, right? You couldn't be more wrong!

Last Friday, the dragon crew came in super amped because they knew we would be out of our normal routine. Anytime that happens, total chaos is sure to follow. (FYI, I also hate picture day and field trips). As the kids pour in, I got about 20 questions of are we going to our reading groups, and are you checking homework to which I respond of course and that's why I assigned it.

When we started the spelling test I tried desperately to grade a set of papers in between 8 questions of can I go to the restroom, 3 of can I go to the library, and 2 of can I take an AR test. "50 first dates", I sigh to myself as I remind my class that we went before the test, we have a procedure for going to the library, and taking an AR test would not be appropriate during another test. And Js, why are you asking me the same question twice, hoping I'll forget and change my mind?

I tried to use the rest of my instruction time to get students to make up some unfinished work and missing assignments. The usual suspects, of course. Then we rushed down to the lunchroom in order to grab our sack lunches. I listened to moans and groans and hunger pains as students hold up their apples and carrot sticks, complaining. I hear "Ewwww! Nobody likes these!" and see most of this produce get thrown away. Then I hear a lot "I'm hungry."

As soon as lunch is over, we have to pack up and get ready for dismissal. In desperation I try to get them to be quiet as I line them up. On the way to the buses, D was in not so rare form and decided that she was going to yell at a boy in the class lined up in front of us. He said something insulting to her and she followed with, "Your pants are so tight you are going to get a yeast infection!" I started to say to her that it was not appropriate to say such things, and then I looked. The pants were so tight! Especially for a boy! I tried to resist, but I cracked a smile. Hey, I'm human. And D was right.