Students: Ya Gotta Love Em
I like it when students make me laugh. Well, at least I think I do. One of the more recent instances was quite hilarious, but in a twisted kind of way. It had to do with a student I'll call Matt.
Matt is, to put it frankly, a little odd. I think he knows it, but I'm not sure. On the first day of school I warned my students that I had scored two points shy of insane on an insanity test. Matt approached me shortly after to let me know that no matter how crazy I am, he's crazier. He made it sound like he thought it was some sort of competition, and relished the idea of taking on a teacher in a contest to prove his worthiness of a "totally crazy" title. Ok, alerting my students of my craziness was not for the purpose of starting a competition. Rather it was to keep them on their toes, and maybe encourage them to have a little curiosity for the next class.
Despite his oddness--maybe because of it--Matt is a good student. He's glad to participate in class, and sometimes makes over the top comments that annoy some of his classmates. I think his social skills are a little lacking, or maybe he just doesn't care that some of the things he says are so ridiculous that other students just shake their heads in disbelief at what he says, or at his enthusiasm for doing something. But that's ok. They can/should learn to tolerate people who are a little different. He often strides in to class and salutes me with a "Greetings, Mr. -----." Yes, he literally salutes me. He does this to other teachers as well, from what I have heard.
Matt has no inhibitions whatsoever. When I assigned a group project awhile ago on the Civil War, he decided to put on skits. The problem was that not everyone in his group wanted to act. So he did some himself. Well, some of his groupmates participated, but he kind of stole the show. They were basically one-man dramas, in which he did everything from rolling around on the floor pretending to be sleeping next to other soldiers in close quarters, to stabbing himself with a fake knife which he had brought in before school for my safekeeping so he wouldn't get in trouble. His over the top approach, and utter lack of bashfulness, was hilarious.
But that wasn't what I was thinking of when I started this post. Matt is also very blunt. This leads me to the story of the sweater. Recently one of the other teachers in the department asked me if I had any interest in a sweater he was looking to get rid of. He had used it in high school, which was a time when he wore clothing which was very much too big for him. Now one to dress a little less baggily, the sweater he had was too big for him, but might be ok for me. And this isn't just any ordinary sweater. It's 100 percent pure new wool, handknit, and made in Ireland. So I decide to wear the sweater to school one day. And it is a little big even for me, but I think it works. (Maybe I should have consulted my Mom first for her opinion. But hey, I'm a big boy now. So I didn't wait for that.) Well, a couple of girls in my study hall made fun of it, and laughed at me. One girl said it looked like I was wearing a dress. Ok, I can handle that. After all, they are just freshman, so they're not as conditioned to control what they say. In other words, their social skills are lacking, but it's to be expected.
The day goes on, and Matt comes to class. He strolls in, takes one look at me wearing the sweater, and says in a matter of fact manner, something like "That sweater makes you look fat." He seemed totally oblivious to the fact that this might not be a socially acceptable thing to say, especially to a teacher. It was like he was observing the weather. Two of the girls sitting in the front who heard the comment could hardly control their laughter. I joined in. It was pretty hilarious, in part because I know he had no intention of insulting me, yet he said something that could be taken that way. I told him that some people needed alcohol to throw away their inhibitions, but he needed none! (And I suppose it could be a compliment in a way, if it means I don't normally look fat, but only did that day!)
Matt is, to put it frankly, a little odd. I think he knows it, but I'm not sure. On the first day of school I warned my students that I had scored two points shy of insane on an insanity test. Matt approached me shortly after to let me know that no matter how crazy I am, he's crazier. He made it sound like he thought it was some sort of competition, and relished the idea of taking on a teacher in a contest to prove his worthiness of a "totally crazy" title. Ok, alerting my students of my craziness was not for the purpose of starting a competition. Rather it was to keep them on their toes, and maybe encourage them to have a little curiosity for the next class.
Despite his oddness--maybe because of it--Matt is a good student. He's glad to participate in class, and sometimes makes over the top comments that annoy some of his classmates. I think his social skills are a little lacking, or maybe he just doesn't care that some of the things he says are so ridiculous that other students just shake their heads in disbelief at what he says, or at his enthusiasm for doing something. But that's ok. They can/should learn to tolerate people who are a little different. He often strides in to class and salutes me with a "Greetings, Mr. -----." Yes, he literally salutes me. He does this to other teachers as well, from what I have heard.
Matt has no inhibitions whatsoever. When I assigned a group project awhile ago on the Civil War, he decided to put on skits. The problem was that not everyone in his group wanted to act. So he did some himself. Well, some of his groupmates participated, but he kind of stole the show. They were basically one-man dramas, in which he did everything from rolling around on the floor pretending to be sleeping next to other soldiers in close quarters, to stabbing himself with a fake knife which he had brought in before school for my safekeeping so he wouldn't get in trouble. His over the top approach, and utter lack of bashfulness, was hilarious.
But that wasn't what I was thinking of when I started this post. Matt is also very blunt. This leads me to the story of the sweater. Recently one of the other teachers in the department asked me if I had any interest in a sweater he was looking to get rid of. He had used it in high school, which was a time when he wore clothing which was very much too big for him. Now one to dress a little less baggily, the sweater he had was too big for him, but might be ok for me. And this isn't just any ordinary sweater. It's 100 percent pure new wool, handknit, and made in Ireland. So I decide to wear the sweater to school one day. And it is a little big even for me, but I think it works. (Maybe I should have consulted my Mom first for her opinion. But hey, I'm a big boy now. So I didn't wait for that.) Well, a couple of girls in my study hall made fun of it, and laughed at me. One girl said it looked like I was wearing a dress. Ok, I can handle that. After all, they are just freshman, so they're not as conditioned to control what they say. In other words, their social skills are lacking, but it's to be expected.
The day goes on, and Matt comes to class. He strolls in, takes one look at me wearing the sweater, and says in a matter of fact manner, something like "That sweater makes you look fat." He seemed totally oblivious to the fact that this might not be a socially acceptable thing to say, especially to a teacher. It was like he was observing the weather. Two of the girls sitting in the front who heard the comment could hardly control their laughter. I joined in. It was pretty hilarious, in part because I know he had no intention of insulting me, yet he said something that could be taken that way. I told him that some people needed alcohol to throw away their inhibitions, but he needed none! (And I suppose it could be a compliment in a way, if it means I don't normally look fat, but only did that day!)
posted by redsoxwinthisyear at 5:09 PM
9 Comments:
And for you grammar fanatics, I know I switched verb tenses incorrectly, but I'm too lazy to fix it. So there!
Wow, will I get to see the Sweater? Maybe you ARE fat, and it just took the Sweater to highlight that aspect of your physical appearance--nobody noticed that quality until you wore it! JUST KIDDING!
Okay- I think you need to post a picture of you wearing the sweater.
I wanted this post to go on and on. It was SOOOOOO GOOD! More stories on this line in the future, please! More tales from Matt!
Good post. The world needs more Matt's :)
Post a picture and reveal my identity, not to mention provide an opportunity for friends and foes to laugh at my obesity? Never!
Just give us a picture of the sweater! That will be enough for now!
Ok, just for you Claire, here's more. (I can't believe I forgot to mention this before.) I assigned students to pretend they were an immigrant in New York city around 1900. They had to write a journal entry in which they displayed knowledge of immigration and city life at the time. Matt comes in and tells me that since he chose to be a Norwegian immigrant, he wrote his letter in Norwegian. Sure enough, on the back side of his journal entry in English was a paragraph in Norwegian. He's inimitable, I'm telling you!
Wow! Now THAT is impressive.
My!
Post a Comment
<< Home