Where Did That Come From

My students often speak and act as though they are much older than they really are. They feel as though they must walk around with a sense of maturity and engage in street talk in an effort to not look "soft." R is no different. He will often attempt to look and sound like the leader of the class in terms of this verbiage. As such, the following dialogue in class caught me off guard.

Mr. A: "So it's pretty cool guys because we were given a lot of book donations and our class library has grown so you have more choices."

R: "Oh, that's tight! Did you get any Pippi Longstocking?"

Mr. A: "Um...not really sure how to answer this question. Oddly enough, yes, I do have a Pippi Longstocking book."

R: "That's dope kid!"

This was the first installment of my shock. The next piece of this shock happened a little bit later in the class period when R attempted to belittle the all powerful Mr. A.

Mr. A: "Are there any other questions about the expectations?"

R: "No offense Mr. A, but you is not that cool. You need a woman."

Mr. A: "Huh, this coming from the guy whose favorite is Pippi Longstocking."

R: "That's not my favorite."

Mr. A: "That makes more sense."

R: "Yeah, Swiss Family Robinson is my favorite."

Mr. A: "I...I mean...I got nothing."

They Grow Up So Fast

My fourth grade students have a tendency to argue with one another. Let's face it, they all have that tendency. In this particular instance, A and T have been going back and forth for about the last 15 minutes. A and T will do that...a lot. I currently have the whole class lined up in the hallway as I am bringing them to their homeroom teacher. As they well know, there is no talking in the hallway. When the battle is on though they simply do not care. We enter...

T: "Oh yeah girl, that's why yo' hair be looking all ratty!"

Mr. A: "There's no talking in the hallway."

A: "That's why yo' face got all them bumps all over it."

Mr. A: "There's no talking in the hallway."

M: "I think it's called puberty."

Mr. A: "There's no talking in the hallway."

A: "It's called acne."

Mr. A: "There's no talking in the hallway."

A: "With yo' dusty looking self."

Mr. A: "Pretty sure there's no talking in the hallway."