Today’s class was, well, horrible. For whatever reason, the students were at their worst behavior of the entire year. They were unruly and talkative and simply would not listen. In fact, I gave every single student a negative point at the end of the class for their abominable behavior.
All that being said, there was something extremely amusing today, too.
I have never had a poker face, or at least, not when it comes to being angry. The entire world knows when I’m angry. I am simply unable to hide what has become known as “The Look.” I flash people a look even when they’re only mildly annoying, apparently. Today, after one of my students was being particularly annoying, he and the other students commented on the look I was giving him. They particularly noted that they had never seen that specific expression before. “That’s because you’ve never been this bad,” I said.
“Can you do it again?” they asked.
The lesson was not learned.
For the rest of the class, every time the students misbehaved and I shot them a reproving look, there was a chorus of, “She’s doing it again!” and “There it is!” and (sigh) “Can you do it again?”
This look, I explained to my madrich (assistant), is but a pale shadow of the look that has been known to cause grown men to flatten against the wall as I walk past, hoping against hope that it isn’t directed at them. It is the look that used to get my father, one of the only men in the world who was not afraid of it, to say, “Stop looking at me like that.” It is the look I used to call the “Eff-you” look.
Sigh. The Look has been relegated to an entertaining expression for fourth graders when they are misbehaving.
I guess I’m not nearly as angry as I used to be.
Then again, they were just misbehaving children. I’m perfectly sure The Look is still there for when it’s truly needed. Disciplining unruly children in religious school is not one of those times.
It is the look I used to call the “Eff-you†look.
That is a hallmark of women and fathers everywhere.
Post it! :-) I want to see The Look.
It has only been pictured once, on a videotape that I think by now has been destroyed.
Or lost.
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
I lost it.
Children these days know full well their teachers are not allowed to punish or even inconvenience students in any way, so “the look” is nothing but empty threats to be mocked.
Like any diplomacy that is not backed up by believable threats, “the look” is worse than worthless when used on someone that knows you’re bluffing.
Clearly, Tat, you have never taught children. And you have certainly never taught religious school, which is a whole ‘nother animal.
These children come to school on Tuesday afternoons after already having been in school for six hours, and on Sunday mornings, when they’d rather sleep in and then play all day. My job is to try to teach tired, antsy children. It isn’t to frighten them.
There is no need to threaten them. I have had to raise my voice exactly once this year. The problem is that they are nine years old, and nine-year-olds have a completely different way of seeing things than adults.
A teacher who needs to scare her students into obeying her is an incompetent teacher.
“The Look” was not worthless. It indicated that the student getting it was misbehaving. The problem is that nine-year-olds think everything new and different is neat, and the ones who weren’t getting the look weren’t abashed into stopping their behavior—because they weren’t doing anything wrong. They were the ones who said, “There it is again!”
Tat, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Bemoaning the fact that I’m not terrifying children into learning? That’s not you.
Some days I’m brilliant, some days I’m stupid, some days I’m just plain creepy.
Today’s obviously not a brilliant day.