So the day is going really well. I played a game in 3 classes and almost every student participated, enjoyed and learned something. I was excited. I even played the game with my sixth period who are notoriously badly behaved (they brag). And though they were loud and obnoxious, they too participated and learned. It's great what a little healthy competition can bring out.
Until seventh period... Apparently my three drama queens took it upon themselves to gang up and get into an argument with one mentally handicapped girl earlier in the day. Here's the breakdown:
For the last week, the mentally handicapped girl (she's not covered by any of the special ed programs, she's just a little weird, a little hygiene deficient and very sensitive) - Amanda - has been very depressed. It seems that her best friend (also a little weird) accidentally stepped back without looking and crushed a kitten. It was, of course, an accident, but anyone would be upset and these two have just been devastated.
Drama queen #1 supposedly politely asked her what she was depressed about, sometime earlier in the day. However, everyone knows that the drama queen is rarely capable of what a normal person would consider politeness, and though I was not present, I can hear in my mind this girl saying something that sounds confrontational.
Amanda stumbles for words as she describes what happens in a low voice, probably leaving out numerous details due to being nervous in #1's presence and scrutiny.
Enter Drama queen #2, who simply hears "kitten dies" and starts screaming that Amanda is a cat killer. Amanda freaks out and starts crying and saying whatever comes to her head. According to Amanda at some point, #2 says something about shooting her int the head because she killed an innocent cat. The drama queens deny any such phrase was uttered. Again I wasn't there, I'm just piecing together what I was told and gelling it with the four girls that I know.
Drama queen #3, always present, starts arguing with Amanda when Amanda starts to freak out.
Hence, we have three drama queens ganging up on one defensless, slightly crazy, completely wigging-out girl. (I'm sorry, but the term just fits.) Even their classmates are shunning them for it.
So, anyway, how and why does this affect me? I have the pleasure of having all four girls in the same class. By the time they get to my room, rumors have been flying already and the drama queens are ready and willing to tell their side of the story.
Someone asks where Amanda is, which is strange in itself because as I said she's a little weird and in a large school she is often forgotten about by the other students. Warning bells go off in my head. Someone explains that she was kind of rocking in her chair and banging on the desk with her fists during their previous class. And begin drama queens rendition of the story. I shut them down saying that I didn't want to know, and they needed to study for a test tomorrow.
A moment later, Amanda comes in a with a pass from her administrator and DQ #1 begins again with her story, albeit quietly and just to the people in her group. I gave Amanda some basic directions and tried to continue with class.
My mistake... DQ #2 gets called down to the office, and there are no doubts in anyone's mind why. And here we go again. So I say DQ #1 (but I used her real name lol) "out in the hall, I want to talk to you."
I explained to her that while I understand that something interestin happend earlier in the day, i don't want to here any more about it. I told her that it's rude to talk about people even if you are across the room and they can't hear. Out comes DQ #3 to defend DQ #1. I think that she'll come out of the closest at some point in the next couple of years, but that's a different blog. So I say "Okay fine, let's just have it out" and ask Amanda to join us.
The whole story comes out. They had cursed at each other and called each other names they neither could remember saying (luckily DQ #3 was there to verify.) I used this to point out that people say things in anger that they don't mean. Obviously they didn't mean them if they can't even remember them right?
DQ#2 returns from the office to meet us in the hall. She is shaken-up because I have no doubt the word "expulsion" had been mentioned to her. We don't take threats of violence lightly at our school.
Eventually, after much conjoling on my part, everyone apologized to everyone. DQ#2 maintains that she did not say anything about shooting, but did apologize for any miscommunication and possible fear she caused. Amanda apologized for misjudging DQ#3 and thinking that she would act violently. DQ#1 apologized for the name-calling, as did Amanda. DQ#3 apologized for anything, though continued to state that she'd done nothing.
I threatened to send all of them right back to their admin's office if any of them breathed even one more word about it before the bell rang.
Luckily, they kept quiet and we got through three of the eight problems I wanted to before tomorrow's test. Keep in mind that I also had to spend about 20 minutes out in the hall with DQ #1 earlier this week, so the class has lost about 35 minutes of instructional time.
All of this took place over a span of about 15 minutes.
Later, I spoke with the administrator of all three drama queens (all their last names begin with the same letter - how convenient LOL). He was appreciative and impressed that I diffused the situation and saved him a headache in the morning.
Now, here's the debate: We didn't go over the word problems. In my other class the students really seemed to finally "click" today and I really felt more confident about the test tomorrow. Do I still give the later class the test? They could have been working while I was out in the hall with the girls. Fat chance, though lol. However, it really wasn't the fault of most of the students in the class that they were without my guidance for so long when they should have been reviewing. Oh well, I'll figure it out tomorrow, I'm tired of solving problems right now...