text: First time for everything! | A to Z Teacher Stuff Forums
  Discussion in 'General Education Archives' started by txmomteacher2, Oct 30, 2005.
  Well it finally happened! I got called the B word. I guess I have my teacher thick skin too, because I actually thought it was funny. This was a 6th grade class and they were awful!!!!!! So I actually yelled and made them work alone on a huge packet. (teacher said I could make them work alone if behavior became an issue) So they told the next class I was a b----. So this kid comes up to me at the next class and asked my if I was really a b-----. I told him if this class was as rude to me as the last class YES i would be. I'm not sure I will be subing for this class again, although I should just prove to them it didn't bother me.
  txmomteacher2, Oct 30, 2005
  Congratulations! You have officially been called a "B!" I'm glad you can roll with it. 6th. graders trying to be soooo cooooool.
  Grammy Teacher, Oct 30, 2005
  Wow, what is it with those 6th graders? I think we talked about them on another thread. I had one tell me Friday that "I'm not afraid of you." Well, I didn't ask if she was, just told her if she spent another 15 minutes in the bathroom when I had trusted her to go and come back quickly, she would be staying after school to do the work she missed (while talking in the bathroom!). I told her I wasn't there to be her friend. I haven't been called a "b" but I've been called a NAG. Guess they got tired of me asking them to keep the noise down. Congrats txmomteacher2, you've been initiated!
  AChancetoTeach, Oct 30, 2005
  Hahahaha! "I'm not afraid of you!" I love that one. I would have been inclined to either say, "Well, that's gooooood." OR, " You WILL be if you don't start moving a bit faster in that bathroom!"
  Ha! No, I know it doesn't pay to confront smart aleck kids...they usually get worse if ya do. When I was in 6th. grade, us girls were always late from our bathroom breaks because we would start doing our hair! We all wanted to put our hair 'UP' and look real sophisticated...we used hundreds of bobby pins to achieve this effect and piled on the makeup that this one girl brought everyday. Oh those were awful years!
  Sorry to hear you had a bad day. I don't like to go along with working in groups. That causes lots of problems for subs. I had high school freshmen who supposedly could work in pairs. Pairs soon became groups of 5 or 6. The next class, I said you can work with a partner but only if they are seated next to you. That worked a bit better but still not good. Third class of the day, I said work independently, period! This group actually finished the work.
  To my face, they call me mean and muse that I must have menopause. I'm sure the B... word is said plenty after class. Just like I find myself swallowing the word "smartass" a lot! Just call 'em "Sweetie" and smile!!!
  Hnana, Oct 30, 2005
  hehe.... congrats on not letting it bother you! That is great.
  I actually had a sixth grade girl say that she WAS afraid of me.... she kept talking in class, especially while I was trying to teach the lesson, so I would give her that no-nonsense "shut up and get back to work" look... aka the mom "you know what you did wrong" look. (Odd, I am not yet a mom, but I have been told by multiple people that I can give that look. )
  myangel52, Oct 31, 2005
  newgirl Rookie
  oh! In an odd sort of way it was uplifting to hear your story. I usually sub in a primary school (k-2nd), but this Thursday and Friday I am subbing for a 6th grade class. I have known about it for a month and have silently been dreading it a little. I have not yet been called a B..., at least not to my face! I will remember your story if things get tough this week and I will smile.
  newgirl, Nov 1, 2005
  LOL, I remember 2 or 3 years in (4th grade) one of my parents came in to meet me. We had a really good, productive meeting. As she was leaving she said that she was pleasantly surprised that the meeting went so well. I was a little shocked and asked why. She said her son told her I was as mean as a prison guard. I don't think that she understood that I took that as a compliment! I will say that this child comes to see me often and hugs me every time (he is a sophmore in high school) he sees me. Being seen as tough is definitely a plus. The kids respect you and know you mean what you say.
  ChristyF, Nov 1, 2005
  Woah! I'm not surprised though. Kids these days have no respect for authority. I've been subbing for 6 yrs & I've actually never been called the "B" word. I guess if I ever was called that one day, I'd either pretend not to hear it OR handle it the same way as you (saying, "Yes, I will be a "B" if this class is rude"), depending on the circumstances. Hopefully, I'll never have to face this. But I think you handled it well. If you don't act shocked by it & go w/ the flow, they won't keep going w/ it either (hopefully!)
  myangel52 said:
  heh heh heh.... you have a-rr-i-v-e-d!! I am a parent of two "grown" boy/men that are in college, maybe you could give me a refresher course on that "mom" look. Although, I did have two middle schoolers make a comment about me as they passed me in the hall as I was going into an interview for a long term sub position there. First it was, " Oh , hey Mrs. "T", watcha doin' here??? ... Then toher buddy..." Ohmygod, that was that mean, crotchty, B that was our sub last year in English and math " Shudder shudder, gaggin motion and then quickly ran down the hall. Kinda made me take a step back and wonder, should I have taken that as a compliment, or did I actually do something sooo lousy in that class, that they really don't like my teaching methods....
  Any way, I decided that I was going to take it as a compliment and let it roll off my back even if it weren't.
  munchkin, Nov 2, 2005
  Shame that kids today really don't know what the real meaning of the words are.... One of these days Im gonna do some research on the namecalling done in medieval times, according to my brainiac of a literature/history sister " those people could really use the ole sarcasm..."
  On another note ,What do you do when you have a student call you an ugly name, then threatens your life and another studentsbody parts... then when you document it and report it per the team leaders instructions, the assistant principal promptly supports the "offending mouth" and just as quickly tells you your services are no longer needed????
  Frankly, I just gathered up my materials, smiled as I turned in the keys and walked out. I will never sub there again! I may have gone to school with alot of the staff there and grew up in that area, but I don't have to put up with that kind of lack of support and grief! I feel my time is worth more than that even if all I do the next day is sit at home and read a book!
  Kabookie Rookie
  from my post on "one of those days...":
  The last class had three come in way before the rest of the class. I could tell they were trouble, so I pulled them from the back of the room and separated them in seats 1, 3, and 5 in the front row. Child "A" immediately started going ballistic. When I called him on it he got worse, so I sent him to the office in the first 5 minutes of class. The assignment was to draw a large flower, color it and the background with crayon or pencil, and when finished come to me to use a sharpie to outline the drawing. Simple enough, eh? Well, the little "stinker" was sent back and continued his antics, taking other students' crayons. I called the office and let them know I was sending him back to them and I did NOT want him back. Then I had two against the wall in chairs, and was breaking up a second pair of boys when the guidance counselor came in to see about "stinker's" story. She calmed dow the two I working with, and learned the true story about what happened. I walked the class back to their regular teacher and explained what happened, and she said nothing - just looked at me and nodded. Yikes! (end snip)
  When the guidance counselor was speaking with me, one student came up and said that so and so student was going to beat me up! The counselor told him that that wasn't helping at all in the situation. I didn't bother to find out which student wanted to beat me up. I acted like I didn't care , and nothing more was said about it. Weird, huh?