Today, I made a student cry.
Let’s break that down: 1) This particular student is really special. I mean, he’s consistently one of my nicest students. He’s consistently one of my most engaged students. And he consistently is very sweet to me in particular.
But wait a second… 2) I made him cry?! Whoops. Because that happened. A bunch of students were chatting when they were supposed to be working. I didn’t know who all was talking, but I did know that he was. So I punished him for it. And maybe that’s not fair, but it got the message across to all of them. He was obviously really upset (not all that unusual when students get in trouble), and he asked to speak with me in my office. We stepped inside the glass office, me facing the class through the glass, and him facing away from the class towards me. And I explained that while I know he wasn’t the only one talking, he still needs to not talk when I tell him not to. He knows the rules, and he’s responsible for his own decisions. Classic teacher speech.
And then the water works. He was just so upset, and he told me that he needed a moment to himself in the office. I happily gave it to him, and then he also asked to work separately from everyone else when he came out, again, something I was fine with. When I spoke to him later, I asked if he had ever been in trouble before, and he shook his head. The poor little boy. I feel like I crushed his poor little spirit.
… so naturally I made pizza for dinner. Duh. I came home after work, and spent some quality time with myself. Because sometimes making sweet children cry is as exhausting as having a teacher that makes you cry. And sometimes, you just need a few extra minutes in the office. Sometimes, you just do.
And more than sometimes, you just need pizza for dinner. That’s real life.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
This whole cauliflower pizza crust thing happened awhile ago, I know. But I finally made it tonight. And… wow! Believe the hype. It’s amazing.
Make this thing. Seriously, do.
Aww poor kiddo. I remember being that kid in high school, when my favorite teacher had to call me out for writing a game on my calculator when he was speaking in class. As the “good student” I was horrified at being the one called out. I can believe being the teacher in this situation is super tough too, esp if the student cries! I’m glad there was pizza to make things better