Karen at Chookooloonks has decided to to come clean about her way of speaking in everyday life, rather than the edited version which we get to read on her blog.
She is talking about letting loose a swear word, which reminded me of a TA Sub job I was working the other day. I was a classroom Aide for CGI Sixth Grade, their first year of middle school. Even though there is a first quarter gone, some of the students haven’t quite adjusted to all the rules.
We were in the Adaptive PE boys locker room, where I was waiting in the little area near the door and two boys were in cubicles changing back into regular clothes. Neither one should have needed help with the task, but soon I heard some forceful muttering, one kid said the door was jammed, a loud thunk.
I went round the corner and asked them to calm down, maybe climb under the door to get out. The one boy really does not like closed in space.
However, I noticed the reason the door was jammed, so I pressed on it from my side, and got it open.
Two boys came out, one breathing heavily, the other trying to explain it all away that he was trying to help.
I sent the one who was fully dressed on back to the classroom, where he proceeded to tell the teacher about how the other kid got all upset, and HE CUSSED!
Meanwhile, I managed to calm down the guy with the sensitivity issues, had to help with his shoes.
And then, the lock on his locker decided to be uncooperative. We dinked around with it awhile, but I knew we had to get moving. He was worried that somebody would steal his clothes, so I gathered them and the lock and carried it along to deal with later.
When we got to the room, the first boy hollers out about the cuss word. The teacher looks to me to handle it, since I was the adult at the scene. By then, my own issues about ‘being late’ were coming to the surface.
This outburst also got the second boy on the defensive again.
So I took a deep breath, looked right into the face of the first kid and said “Yeah, it was a tough situation, so swearing was IN CONTEXT” which he did not quite know the meaning of, but the other TA and the teacher both had to cover their lips with their fingers to stop the smiles from showing.
Then I patted him on the shoulder and asked if he would please let it go, PE and locker room were last hour, so now is time for Social Studies and snack.
The other TA hurried to the snacks box, the teacher turned on the projector for the SmartBoard, and we managed to settle back into routine.
Later at the break, I explained about the lock, which worked perfectly for the other TA. The boy still says he wants a lock with a key, which we told him to ask his parents if they would purchase one for him.
At lunch time, the first kid was telling his tablemates that the other kid got away with cussing in the locker room. One of those teachable moments all over again. I told him that the school rule does mean No Cussing, but sometimes we just have to understand certain people have to be accommodated.
I mentioned another time when I was with him and he did something maybe too much, but I let him be okay with the difference. And yeah, he did remember that. Sometimes being the TA Sub blipping in and out one day time for different classrooms and grade levels does pay off.
Letting out some slack helps us all to get along.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
