My, How 5th Grade Has Changed

Or I was really that naive. The kids in my class are 10 or 11 years old. 10 or 11. What were you thinking about when you were 10 or 11? I was probably thinking about that Cabbage Patch Doll that I really wanted, or that real sweatsuit with the Adidas logo on it, or maybe the next sleepover party I would attend. Regardless, I wasn't scheming with my friends to do stuff during school. Call me a goody-goody. But really, I wasn't unlike most of the girls in my class. (Except the "not-so-goody" girls who now look like angels compared to my current class).

I have been noticing that the kids in my class have been going to the bathroom a lot. When I student taught and this would happen, Linda told me that I should start timing kids when they went. After timing one particular boy, he hurried up the times after that. Today I had a thought that I should start timing my kids. Turns out, they were timing themselves.

Laura told me after school that both of our classes were in cahoots. A boy in one room would scheme with a girl in the other room to both go to the bathroom at the same time. Once there, they would kiss. I'm picturing the conversation going something like this: "Meet me in the bathroom at 2:10 pm. Don't be late." As Laura added, "What a romantic place for a rendezvous!"

Thinking back to today, I remember one girl impatiently waiting for me to finish instructing. (A rule in my class is that the kids can't leave or get up until I'm done with my instructions. Without that rule, the room would be chaotic.) When I finally let her go, she pretty much high-tailed it out of the room. She was late for her date! Then, toward the end of the day, one of my rough boys asked to go to the bathroom for a second time. "Didn't you just go to the bathroom before?" I asked him. "Yeah, but I have to go again," he said. "Are you okay?" I said to make him feel a little guilty. Oh, the boy was okay. He was on a mission.

So tomorrow Laura and I have to meet with the principal to discuss our scheming, pre-pubescent kids. And to think that spring has only just begun. We're in for a long season.