Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Short Term Memory Problem

We have had to start our school days with a brief social skill/friend awareness lesson lately. There are lots of topics, but it usually comes down to following the Golden Rule. Treat others the way you'd want to be treated. It so easily rolls off the tongue, but can be hard to follow throughout the day.

This morning I had planned to cover how the book, It's B.O. was first and foremost a nonfiction book and not one to be passed around the classroom while smirking at the chapter called Down Under. "Remember boys and girls, the facts of life are just that--facts, and not something we laugh about."

But two of the offenders were absent (providing hopes for a calmer day ahead) so in my head I put that lesson on hold. And as only fourth-graders can do, someone got us started on a topic by stating, "P. is telling everyone that L. and Y. (girls) like M. (boy). The immediate looks of confusion and disgust on said students faces was priceless. We all burst into laughter.

So there was the lesson and I dove in. To illustrate I thought I'd draw a diagram of how this rumor was passed from student to student. We stared at the configuration. One line stopped abruptly at S. I praised him for stopping the rumor. I heaped accolades on him for standing tall.

However S., looking rather sheepish, felt the need to explain his actions.
"Well, really Ms. E. it wasn't that at all. It's this short term memory problem I have. I can't remember the rumors to pass them on."

Oh my.

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