One theory I've developed as a mother is to never do something for my kids that they can do themselfves. This naturally leads to the ocassional pout fest, or my favourite; yet another creative excuse.
Ben came up with a funny one this morning when I asked him to get the milk on the table for breakfast. Heaving a weary sigh, my four-year old looked at me and said languidly "No, I've been doing that for a hundred years!" His parents were chuckling over that one this morning.
The thing is, spending time in the teaching profession you hear a lot of excuses. These ones are not so cute, but mostly either lame or just pathetic. I'm thinking of composing a list of some of the worst excuses I've heard there, but here's a few of them:
-I'm too poor (?!)
-I'm handicapped (be it ADD, ADHD, mentally disabled, blind... this one is endless)
-I'm (fill in the blank with the minority group of your choice)
-I'm too stupid
-That's just the way I am
-guilt tripping, like one of my very favourites where one student accused me of being a racist because I told her to get back to work
After grappling with pre-adolescents, my kids are a breeze, plus all the more adorable. What they come up with is also a lot more funny.
What are some gems that your kids have come up with?
UPDATE: My apologies to all who misunderstood my mention of students with disabilities. My comment in no way was about students who do live with with them. I have had the oppurtunity to teach many such students and they are a delight to have in the classroom. What I was referring to was those students who do not have disabilities, but try to manipulate me as a substitute teacher and get out of work. I am sorry for any confusion I may have caused.
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3 comments:
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I think what you're trying to say is that a lot of the junior high students you have taught in your subbing have given a wide variety of excuses as to why they can't or won't do something.
There's a big difference between someone who actually needs the help to complete assigned tasks and someone who will say just about anything to get out of doing the work (i.e. your list of excuses above)
While not widespread, it is a problem with a few too many kids who have gotten away with it in the past. Maybe you could have been a bit more clear with what you were trying to say so as to avoid confusion and potentially hurting someone.
My original comment didn't make it up here for very long (hence my other comment above), so I thought I'd try again. While I understand the frustration behind dealing with "excuses" as a substitute teacher, I don't feel that legitimate disabilities can be considered lame or pathetic in any way. I assume here that you're talking about people who claim to have disabilities but may not? I was confused as to which group you were discussing.
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