Blog #3 - PB & G (5/31)
Let me just start by saying, I really thought I liked the smell of peanut butter.
You see, today was the last day I would get to see my new friends (or at least to UWBâs knowledge since Iâm still going to volunteer until the end of the school year). I told myself I wanted to write about this experience as if it was my last day, but at this point I think Iâm about to only talk about Gabeâs session, so whatâs the point?
Although Gabe had a less than stellar performance with his friends the first time around, the second time wasnât so bad. Maybe it was because he listened and only brought one friend, but nonetheless I was inclined to allow him to bring a friend again.
In walked Gabe and Gabbie. Was it wrong to assume he would would bring a boy friend? Maybe, but I mean boys and girls can totally be friends, or so says my childhood.Â
I was definitely excited to meet her. But thatâs when the waft of nuts hit me...sorry, sorry, peanut butter hit me. This girl was holding her lunch in her hand: a peanut butter sandwich. At first, I did okay. I mean, I didnât know if she was supposed to bring food into Mr. Robbâs office. Still, sheâd take a bite, the smell would grow for a minute, but everything would eventually be fine. However, around half way through her sandwich, maybe a little more, she thought she heard me say a bad word (dick). She then presumed to stand up, take her sandwich, and place it in front of her pelvic area (yes, she was creating a peanut butter sandwich penis). Although I was happy to see her and Gabe burst out in laughter, I was less than impressed by her maturity. I know sheâs a child, a second grader, but things like that really shouldnât be done in front of an adult if you donât want to get in trouble. But then the same question hit me: am I just the friend? Is she not scared of me the way she would be a staff member and thatâs why she feels comfortable doing this? We quickly resumed our game, only for the office ladies to come by and remind both children to keep it down. While I turned my head around to grab the box for the game we were putting away, Gabbie found my phone and snatched it. She held it in my face and said she was going to send bad messages to all the people I knew. Of course, I held out my hand and told her she needed to give it back immediately, but the fact that she would even do something so rude in the first place made me more infuriated. With this anger came the smell of peanut butter again, more intense than before. So, I let the kids leave five minutes early so they could enjoy a little time out at recess together. So yeah, I hate to say it, but I think Gabbie ruined peanut butter for me. I imagine that being a teacher might cause things like this to happen, where a bad experience with a student might ruin an activity or something. Part of it makes me not want to be a teacher, and just opt to become someone more involved with the law aspect of education. Either way, even though it wasnât the best day, Iâm just glad I got the chance to meet someone new, even if I didnât like them all that much. By the way, is that bad? I feel like Iâm not supposed to like every kid, although for the most part I do. But sometimes certain kids just donât meet our expectations and donât even meet our low expectations. As long as I donât treat them as if I donât like them, does that mean itâs okay to not like them? Or will it end up showing in little ways that maybe I donât like them as much as the others? I donât want to be a teacher that teaches a student as if they are broken or rotten because that honestly doesnât help anyone, so understanding whether or not I can separate my dislike of a student from my teaching would be an excellent thing to figure out. Â
















