goody goody grownup
i can still remember the first time i heard a "popular" kid call me a "goody-goody." well, not me personally, but a group of people in which i knew i belonged.
it was right before junior prom. the administration had announced that there would be a breathalizer at prom for any students suspected of being drunk. of course this announcement did not make the students happy and they vented about it in the cafeteria. a girl at my table said, (a most eloquent argument indeed): "everybody except the goody-goodies will be drunk prom night!" i sat there, red-faced, ashamed for the first time in my life for being a "goody-goody."
as an adult who deals with teenagers every day, that goody-goodiness still affects me sometimes. today, one of my students joked that his brain will be "moving slow" tomorrow(tomorrow is 4/20, the national day to get high). the entire class laughed at his joke. i didn't. i told him to get out of the room. i stormed out, slammed the door, and ripped him. i told him that drugs aren't funny and if he knew what they were doing to his brain, he'd understand that. i told him that a principal would be at my door tomorrow and if he smelled like marijuana, we would call the cops. the boy sat there, completely red-faced, looking at the ground mumbling, "Yes ma'm. Yes ma'm." the entire time. We went back in the room and the entire class sat in shocked silence.
After about 10 minutes, I realized this was what they call a "teachable moment." An unplanned moment in a classroom when it is the best opportunity to teach the students - the time they are most likely to learn. So I took advantage. Suddenly, I was their mother and their big sister in one, stern but loving, as I talked to them about the side effects and dangers of drugs.
I am flabbergasted at the thought of 15 and 16 year olds smoking marijuana - and, worse yet, finding humor in admitting it to teachers. it's so disturbing. that goody-goody girl in me will never understand things like that. and now, at 28, i'm proud of that.
it was right before junior prom. the administration had announced that there would be a breathalizer at prom for any students suspected of being drunk. of course this announcement did not make the students happy and they vented about it in the cafeteria. a girl at my table said, (a most eloquent argument indeed): "everybody except the goody-goodies will be drunk prom night!" i sat there, red-faced, ashamed for the first time in my life for being a "goody-goody."
as an adult who deals with teenagers every day, that goody-goodiness still affects me sometimes. today, one of my students joked that his brain will be "moving slow" tomorrow(tomorrow is 4/20, the national day to get high). the entire class laughed at his joke. i didn't. i told him to get out of the room. i stormed out, slammed the door, and ripped him. i told him that drugs aren't funny and if he knew what they were doing to his brain, he'd understand that. i told him that a principal would be at my door tomorrow and if he smelled like marijuana, we would call the cops. the boy sat there, completely red-faced, looking at the ground mumbling, "Yes ma'm. Yes ma'm." the entire time. We went back in the room and the entire class sat in shocked silence.
After about 10 minutes, I realized this was what they call a "teachable moment." An unplanned moment in a classroom when it is the best opportunity to teach the students - the time they are most likely to learn. So I took advantage. Suddenly, I was their mother and their big sister in one, stern but loving, as I talked to them about the side effects and dangers of drugs.
I am flabbergasted at the thought of 15 and 16 year olds smoking marijuana - and, worse yet, finding humor in admitting it to teachers. it's so disturbing. that goody-goody girl in me will never understand things like that. and now, at 28, i'm proud of that.
posted by lethes | 8:53 AM
3 Comments:
awesome... how i would have loved to been a fly on the wall.. good job in realizing the moment and reacting to it... and doing so in a good way...
i'm a goodie good too...
Me, too!
I always said you're a great teacher. This is just more proof.
You go, girl. Want to come teach at our school?
Unfortunately, I guess I/we are becoming too immunized to hearing our alternative ed students talk about it. . . Thanks for the reminder to keep addressing it every time.
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