Attitude...I am or Yes Ma'am

Nothing is more irrating to me than to hear a child tell me, "I am," after telling him to do some simple task. I am the adult and he is the child. There was one particular boy that had a terrible attitude in my class. He seemed to enjoy being the entertainer in class. If he would spend half his efforts on science class rather than pulling all his antics, he might have a chance at passing class.

I was circulating around the room looking over papers and answering questions. I rounded the corner to Dennis' desk when he looked up, "What?" I shook my head from side to side and put my finger to my lips, "Shhh!" I looked in his hand and saw one of my special pencils half broken in his hand and said, "Keep working." I turned my back to him to continue down the row and I heard something fly past me and sail into the bookshelf. I turned around and a little girl was picking up the broken pencil. "Dennis?" I said in a drawn out fashion. "What?" he said, "It wasn't me." Did he really think I wasn't going to notice the pencil he had had in his hand was clear across the room? "Well, Dennis, do you remember what kids who threw things in 4th grade would have to do when they threw things in my room?" He looked up with big eyes, "Uh no, I never threw anything back then." I positioned myself close to his chair and whispered in his ear, "They got the opportunity to clean everything off the ground in my classroom until I was no longer irritated by the situation. Guess what? I'm pretty irritated and I think I'm probably going to be irritated tomorrow. So, get up and take care of the floor." I walked off and started helping other students. I eventually glanced back and Dennis was still sitting in his desk. I said, "Dennis, you need to get started." He answered me, "I am!" I learned years ago not to get in a tug of war with students. However, I also learned that students that had no respect simply needed an attitude adjustment. I fell in love with a poem by Charles Swindoll about attitude. The poem ends with 'Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.' My students also knew what assignment Dennis was about to be given and all eyes were focused on him anticipating the eruption. I said, "Uh oh! Wrong answer, Mister. The computer desk has paper, pencil, and the "Attitude" poem ready for you. When you finish copying it, you can reflect on it while you clean the floor." The class returned to quietly working.

I don't know what it is about kids, but they will always test your limits just to check. He knew what was expected of him and he knew he wouldn't get away with slinging a pencil across the room. After school Dennis made a point to come by where I was standing during after school dismissal to tell me goodbye and have a good day. I smiled and said, "I'll see you tomorrow and I'm becoming a little less irritated." He looked back and grinned from ear to ear as he ran to catch up with his friends.