I have a lovely student named M----- in my fifth grade class. It's kind of obvious that he's the studly one in the class (at least half of my girls have admitted to me that they have a crush on him) and he's and overall nice, smart kid. I wanted to share two quick stories that kind of show M-----'s personality.
One: I had a student named A----- in my class (she has since moved). A----- and M----- were "going out" for awhile. No, I still don't know (and didn't know when I was 10) what exactly that entails except that A----- was M-----'s girlfriend and all the girls were jealous. Good thing about it was that A----- was a very friendly girl so all the others still liked her. On her last day right before she left there was a somber mood in the classroom as everyone said goodbye. Right as she was walking out M----- called to me "Hey, Miss Budd, listen to this! Bye A-----, I love you." You can mock the kid if you want (though don't do it around me because I might punch you in the face), but in his precious little 11 year old heart he did (does) love this girl and went out on a limb to tell her so. It was extremely precious and I had to try not to tear up. No, I don't think they'll continue to see each other or grow up and get married, but for now he loved her and that's enough.
Two: Last week was the week from hell aka parent teacher conferences. Don't get me wrong, I love to meet with and talk to the parents but I spent two evenings at the school until almost 8 o'clock which makes for very long and tiring days. M----- was my very last conference and came with both his parents and both of his step-parents. You could tell he was really feeling the pressure (and I joked that I could go get his reading teacher if he wanted just to add to it). In March the fifth graders have maturation (sex ed) and I had to get parents to sign the forms. M-----'s dad turned and looked at him and asked if he wanted to go. M----- said he didn't care. His step-mom asked if he knew what it was about and M----- said without thinking, "Yeah, penis." He then proceeded to bury his head under the table and groan and be embarrassed. "Oh my gosh, why did I say that in front of my teacher?" I had to try hard not to laugh (and maybe did a little). The next day he mentioned two or three more times how horrified he was and apologized.
You know what? I kind of like being a fifth grade teacher.
