There have been so many things I've wished to write about over the past couple of weeks but have been swamped with work tasks so the blog posts have been put on the back burner. Tonight is no exception. Between report cards, some 2nd grade team data analysis, translating the notes from Monday's crazy meeting, preparing an agenda for next week's training, and writing two days worth of sub plans so I can be out for next week's said training, it's going to be another long night.
BUT I'm taking a quick dinner break and can share this short, amusing story (although maybe also a small glimpse into the lack of experiences my funny little class has).
Last Tuesday, my fourth and fifth new student of the year enrolled in school...twin girls. They are darling, but very very quiet. That's not necessarily a bad thing since the rest of the class doesn't stop talking, EVER. However when these girls talk nothing actually comes out of their mouth. They have been home-schooled up until now and are extremely shy. I'm sure, as one of my other students said, "Ms. Delight, I think we are scaring them!" And I think I agree.
Anyways, I digress. Upon lining up after the morning bell, the rest of the class was in such a flutter. "We have twins!" They shouted as I picked them up on the playground. My group this year is always in everyone else's business so they were in all their glory last week helping and smothering these little girls, even better, there were two! The week passed without any great incidents, no more than usual anyhow.
As I walked my kids from the yard to class this Monday morning, one of my girls looked at me in all seriousness and said, "Well Ms. Delight, the girls are back and...they STILL look the same!" With a chuckle under my breath I nodded, "They sure do."
Alright, dinner is over; back to work!
three on thursday
3 hours ago
'Ms', not Miss. Are you telling me they get that bit of politics. Even I don't fully understand that one. :-)
ReplyDeleteTalk about dumping them in at the deep end. Mind you I suppose with two it would be easier. And then, two can wind each other up, big time. I can remember my cousins and I frightening the bejapers out of each other.
It will be interesting to see how rapidly they develop two sets of mates.
I don't understand it either. I heard something about it awhile back that made me wonder if I'm just too old to be a Miss. But I don't know. To be honest they call me miss, mrs, hey teacher, mom, so I don't think it would really matter to them. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll be surprised if they get too chummy with anyone before the end of the year because they're pretty attached to each other and not the least bit outgoing, but you never know once they know the routine and feel comfortable they might come into their own. Until then the rest of the kids will be their best friends whether they like it or not. :)
It is nice that your class is so welcoming, even if they are boisterious. It is hard to come in to a class mid term, especially if they are not use to a classroom environment. Their folks did not make the best decision when home schooling, twins actually need a bit of socializing in order to blossom separately.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice, this group is really very sweet, just exhausting! I think there's more to the story because we hadn't been told about the homeschooling by the mom, who has been very gracious, we found out when we received the girls' permanent records.
DeleteAs for homeschooling...I'm respectful of it, and it is a good thing for certain kids. But more times than not the kids who've entered my room after having been homeschooled are socially awkward and don't know how to interact with their peers. I am a supporter of going to school, clearly, because school offers so much more than book smarts. That's not to say there aren't wonderfully successful homeschoolers out there, but that has not been my experience with it.
The germans get real hot and bothered about the miss thing. Really. I think fraulein has more meaning than the miss. Sorta like spinster draws out the Miss Haviham.
ReplyDeleteI expect what you'll see first is two conversations going with them side by side. Then progressively further. But never out of sight.
For some reason the phone wouldn't put in the 's'
DeleteI'm kind of enjoying having two who don't say anything for a change. A quiet entity amongst the madness.
DeleteYou mean the Germans don't like using Miss or they get irritated when it's not used?
(Shakes fist at autocorrect). I knew who you meant. :)
I remember the fraulein thing being explained to me in Galway years ago. It's something to do with a two tier perception of womenhood in the German language with Frau being the goal. Mädchen is different. That moved to English as maiden.
DeleteThe feminist movement tried to argue that the meaning of the Miss is analogous but it isn't. There is no implied flaw in Miss. Not really. If you called someone a spinster, 'then' you are making a call.
Mind you if you type Fraulein into Google and hit images you'll get a surprise.
DeleteHa ha I won't then.
DeleteYa, I'd have a problem with spinster, it's pretty negative. The others, eh, whatever.
On the other hand miss seems teenager-ish to me. I was thinking that ms seemed somewhere in between an 18 year old and miss havisham. But even that leads to other connotations - divorced, widowed, not interested in men.
So maybe I'll stick with hey teacher. ;)
What interesting events lay ahead for the twins in your class as they learn from the other kids in the class. I can't wait to hear about how the twins grow and change or if they stay the same. You are such a good writer!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, thank you. I can't wait to see either. :)
DeleteVery amusing.
ReplyDeleteThe surprise that the twins still looked alike a week later was kind of an eye-opener. We had to have a discussion that because the were identical twins they'd probably look alike every week, forever. :). I see that lack of experiences often, but that was the most basic one so far.
DeleteOne of my favorite stories ever. Too bad you couldn't tell the people what their crazy names are! ;)
ReplyDeleteHa! I know right!?!? 4 syllables a piece is a mouthful.
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