A Career Highlight
Michelle on Jan 17 2007 at 2:39 am | Filed under: The Teaching
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Today, all of the “discipline” team members were called into the principals office for a quick meeting. It concerned a student we are getting. The student has not been expelled to our program or anything like that, he is just crazy. Meaning, he just got out of residential placement because he is 18, and because he is special ed, mentally retarded, they are required to provide educational services.
Wisely, they have decided not to put this particular kid in with the general population at the high school. Apparently, if another kid makes a remark to him that he doesn’t like, he goes off like an suitcase bomb. At the residential treatment facility, it took seven team members, all men, to take him down during these episodes. He is 6′2″ and 240.
The powers that be decided that even in our more controlled facility, he would be in a room working one on one with a tutor for three hours a day, and that half an hour of that time would have to be with a certfied special education teacher.
There are two of us.
The only other woman on our team, a former career military person, looked at me. I looked at her. She positioned her arm on the table in an invitation to arm wrestle.
I said, “Are you serious?”
She nodded. I snickered inside. If there is one thing I am good at, it is arm wrestling. I love it. I have beat three of my partners and every boy I have ever taught (who was brave enough to try) except for two. Yes, perhaps this is a clue as to why my relationships don’t work out so well. Um, anyway.
Ex-Military Teacher and I commenced to wrestling while the rest of the team, including the principal, looked on. After a few minutes, I was getting tired. I feigned boredom, and sighed. Then I said, “Ok, enough of this,” like I had been just sitting there wasting my time, and slammed her arm down. I must have caught her at a good time, because she was tough.
Immediately after I won the inpromptu competition, the principal began to give her instructions as to what she would need to do. I told her she’d better listen up. I was feeling really cocky and obnoxious.
While the principal was giving instructions, I started to think that perhaps the person who won the arm wrestling contest should have been the person working with the large, explosive kid. I kept those thoughts to myself though. Sometimes it’s good to just keep your mouth shut.
I’m still feeling cocky.
ITK code for Singing The Sky:
I have arms like spaghetti, so I could never arm wrestle very well. If you want to leg wrestle, I would have more of a chance because of my running. Seriously, I’m glad you won and LOST the chance of dealing with this kid. He sounds scary.
This kid doesn’t sound like he should be on the street, much less in a school. No teacher should have to deal with this.
I’m still trying to working whether this post is a joke, a nightmare or the summary of the first chapter of a novel you’re writing?
Whoo-hoo! Good for you Michelle!! Rock-on, JP
I am slightly scared of you now that I know you can arm wrestle. I have the phyiscal strength of a small child!
“I started to think that perhaps the person who won the arm wrestling contest should have been the person working with the large, explosive kid.”
I assumed that’s what was happening. I was thinking, “No, Michelle! Throw the game!”
Maybe it swhould have been best two out of three.