Crocodile Tears

I'm quite scared for the future of our world.

As a middle school/junior high teacher, I am seeing (first hand) the quality of young people that will, one day, take over for the rest of us. While my eighth graders are wonderful and give me hope that all is not lost, I'm still having a difficult time seeing something similar in the younger kids.

The fifth graders, in particular, have this very strange sense of entitlement. They act like they they should be handed all of the good things in life, but not have to deal with any of the bad. They don't want to behave or work in class (I have a difficult time just keeping them in their seats), yet they believe that we should be going on multiple field trips and outings together. They whine and complain about taking notes, fighting me every step of the way, yet they feel that they should get to use those notes (and the book too!) on any test that they will have to take. They do not seem to understand the simple concept of "what goes around, comes around" and they have not made any connection between their actions and the outcomes that they are seeing firsthand.

It truly baffles the mind.

Today, in particular, I had to deal with four weepy girls, upset at the detentions that I had given to them. See, we had gone on a field trip (despite my not wanting to) and these little lovelies had taken every available opportunity to break the rules. They chewed gum, hid from the bus driver, walked around with the proverbial "chips" on their shoulders, and basically acted like little brats during the entire four hour period. However, when it came time for them to accept the consequences of their (many) unwanted actions, they turned on the waterworks and begged for forgiveness, a lenient hand just this one time. They pointed to the student handbook, stating that my punishment was too much, that they should only receive a demerit at best.

Now, I'm not stupid. I know that "just this once" becomes twice, thrice and on down the line. And I also know that, despite what the handbook may say, there are loopholes everywhere. A teacher ultimately has the final say, and, in my mind, disobedience on a field trip where we are outside of school grounds (and I am subject to embarrassment in front of other teachers) is worse than being bad in the classroom.

So, I stood my ground and dealt with their crocodile tears. I told them that they could bother me every single day up until the end of the year and I still wouldn't change my mind on the detentions. I ignored their tearful statements that they'd be "beaten" and shrugged off their cries of:

"No! I'm not going out for recess. I'm just going to stand here in the hallway and think about how you ruined my life!"

(No lie. One of them seriously shouted that at me.)

Maybe, in the beginning of the year, I would have felt bad ... But not anymore. Instead, I find myself reminded of a Lewis Carol poem:

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheefully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!

Food for thought, I suppose.