Testing for Safety

On Friday, I finally gave my students their first test, "Lab Safety." We had spent a great deal of time on safety. I drilled the students on when to use goggles, a fire extinguisher, and a fire blanket. Before the test I quizzed the students, "If the teacher somehow is on fire, you would use the....." and I paused to let the students fill in the answer. Every single class was going to put me out with the fire extinguisher. Well, the correct answer would be to use a fire blanket in this instant AFTER stop, drop and roll, but my students knew that we didn't have a fire blanket. SO, we had to have a side lesson on if we had every safety equipment apparatus in our room that we could ever use, we would choose the fire blanket to put out a human and not go with the chemicals. I just hope I never catch myself on fire, because I'm simply too old to stop, drop, and roll and I certainly don't want to be chased by 22 students armed with a fire extinguisher.

While grading the tests, I allowed a bonus question on the back and I was eager to see the answer. "If the teacher calls for a "Safety Freeze", what should you do?" The answer is to use common sense and then freeze. The common sense would be used to get out of the way of danger and then freeze. I wouldn't want a student to freeze when a boiling substance was headed right toward him, or freeze near something on fire. We don't really have drastic things going on in our science lab, but I definitely want my kiddos prepared for the unexpected. I'm sure my elementary teacher wasn't expecting me to experiment with a magnifying glass and sunlight coming through the window, but sure enough, I ignited paper in my desk. When working with students, I know that anything is possible. I was ecstatic to find everyone got that one right. I also discovered lots of flowers, cartoon animals, and "My Science Teacher Rocks!" notes all over their papers. With each new paper I graded, I discovered a personalized note. I made the mistake on writing a personalized note on the first test I graded, so I felt obliged to continue writing on each paper. Needless to say, the test took me an exorbidant amount of time to grade, but each of my students have a personalized note back from me. I love teaching my 6th grade scientists.

Explosion in the Lab

After a week of teaching lab safety and having students and parents sign a safety contract, it was time for our very first lab. All week we had talked about using a fire extinguisher for flames. For whatever reason, my students from the previous year always chose a fire blanket over any other safety equipment on the six-weeks exams. I even said, "Boys and Girls, Do we even have a fire blanket?" My favorite answer from a child was, "What is a fire blanket anyway?" I asked, "Thank Goodness! Someone who didn't answer fire blanket. Honey, what did you choose for an answer." The kid said, "Oh, I put down the fire blanket." ARGH! So, this year I was especially determined my students would be prepared and not answer fire blanket unless they absolutely had to do so.

After demonstrating the procedures at each station, I allowed the students to choose their own lab partners and get started. Every student put on their safety goggles and the girls and boys with long hair pulled their hair into ponytails. It took some convincing to get the boys to get their hair up, but it was either "my way or the highway" on this issue.

I was at station three since it had boiling water. Turning 6th graders loose in a lab with boiling water would have been a HUGE mistake. The lab was working perfectly with whisper voices, science vocabulary words being used, and procedures being followed. I had just said to myself, maybe this was a good lesson to have right after Curriculum Night afterall. I actually had the rare treat of being seated giving my swollen feet a chance to rest. After the students at my station had measured and recorded room temperature water, and ice water, I prepared the boiling water. I explained the safety procedures of where to stand and that I would be performing the measurement of the water. This was their turn to merely observe. I no sooner placed the boiling water in a coffee mug on the desk and somehow a student knocked over the cup. I never saw the kid touch the cup, but in a blink of an eye there was boiling water on the desk. Call it 24 years of teaching experience or call it the mom experience, but I knew to have paper towels ready to cover a spill. All of a sudden a student started hollaring, "She used the fire blanket! She used the fire blanket!" Oh brother! "Boys and Girls," I said loudly and drawn out, "we have a fire extinguisher, goggles, and the "heat resistant gloves" or oven mitts as the girls called it in our lab. We don't have a fire blanket. Do you hear me? No, fire blanket!" "Wow!" a student exclaimed while pointing at me, "Looks like we had an explosion in the lab afterall." I had to laugh. Was there safety equipment for an exploding teacher?

Damaged Goods?

I love teaching. I think I was born to teach. However, I think I still hold the record for being the worst behaved student at Ridgecrest Elementary School. I remember being paddled in music class AND by my second grade teacher. This really didn't change my behavior. I excelled at third grade with a very understanding teacher that understood my creativity and curiosity. She knew when I had the wiggles to put me to work cleaning and organizing. Even still, there were years and years of spending time in the principal's office. I would walk in and he would automatically dial my parents' phone numbers from memory. I was a "Tomboy" and loved doing anything possible to get the boys to chase me at recess. I would hit the boys, kick them or give them a karate chop and flip them over my back just to get their attention. I remember one time the teacher said, "I'm going to paddle the next person that talks." The boy sitting behind me took the opportunity to pull my pony tail. Without the opportunity to explain myself I was sent to the hall. I wasn't about to be paddled, so I simply ran out the back of the school and ran all the way home. My plan worked perfectly because I got home and started watching television. The only problem was the principal came and got me. My parents had the rule that if you got paddled at school you got it twice as bad at home. I don't remember being spanked very often at home, but I do remember being grounded all the time. So, why was I so bad? I was really over-active and had good intentions. I was curious. I remember bringing a magnifying glass to school to see if the sunlight coming through the window and passing through the glass could ignite paper. My 4th grade teacher wasn't amused when smoke was coming out of my desk. My teachers would have a heart attack if they only knew I became a teacher.

Last week I heard about how horrible some of my students were in previous grades. Call it old age or call it bad memory, but I don't remember these children being horrible when I taught them 2 years ago. Some of them had some personal issues, but they really weren't horrible. Some of the students (actually a bunch of them) were behind in school, but they weren't really just damaged goods. I refused to write them off then and I have vowed not to listen to the negative comments now. These are children that belong to somebody's parent. That parent really did send me their best child and it's up to me to make them better. The parents aren't keeping the good kids at home and sending me the bad kids. It's up to me to turn it around.

On the third day of school we had a child just show up without a parent to register the child (to keep the child anonymous I will not reveal any detail including gender about the child, so please forgive the monotony.) He/she was finally assigned to a homeroom and began rotating with his/her class. The child got in trouble in every class he/she went to. I was determined to find out what was going on. Typically children are on their best behavior on their first day of a new school, so why was this child acting out? I found out this little child had more issues in his/her life that most adults wouldn't be able to handle. The next time he/she was in my class I had the opportunity to pull the child aside. I made sure all the issues I could help him/her with like money for the MOOSE notebook, school supplies, and even clothing were taken care of for him. All of a sudden there was a different child in my classroom. I told this child there were adults at school that could help him/her with the problems. Today I noticed the child walking in the hall in a different direction from where he/she should have been and found out he/she went to go have a conversation with someone about the issues. A child just needs an advocate. A child needs to know what it is he/she is doing right and how to improve. Every child really does want the positive attention, but when they can't get the positives needed from an adult, they will seek out the attention in anyway possible. I call it the firework display of emotions. Sometimes the fireworks are beautiful and sometimes you get the duds that misfire. In the end, all you care about seeing is the beautiful finale of all the colors that finally come together.

In the grocery store fruit department, the damaged fruit is tossed to the trash. The bruised bananas are discarded and no one gives them a second glance. In my classroom, if a child is damaged, they aren't discarded. I'll love them, encourage them, scold them when needed, but they are anything but discarded. Damaged goods? I don't think so. I wouldn't even put my students on "clearance." Afterall, their parents sent me their best child. It's up to me to make them even better.