Kids say the darnest things.

Kids say the darnest things. We've all heard the phrase before. Unfortunately, when you're less than 10 years apart in age from your students, you sometimes are faced with laughing along with them, because you get the joke too, or forcing your stern face to make an appearance.

I just recently assigned a project in correlation with Arthur Miller's, The Crucible. The assignment was to write a one page MLA format paper which addressed the question: what did John Proctor die for? How did he want his name to be remembered? Which events led him to his ultimate decision not to "confess" to being a "witch"? Along with this paper I asked students to write half a page about themselves. How are they perceived by others? Do they portray an accurate depiction of themselves? In addition to the writing portion, I asked students to bring in a jar filled with items that represent themselves. There was a rubric and everything...

One of the best students was in front of the class presenting his project. He went all out and bought a large mason jar and crammed it with self artifacts. The first item he wanted to share with the class was "his woody". As you can imagine, there was no preventing the laughter that now filled the room. He continued to tug his woody out of the jar. (And for all you dirty minds that haven't realized yet, he was getting out his toy story woody doll!) Once woody was finally released from the jar, he said "I've had my woody for a long time." Of course that didn't help the laughter that never completely stopped.

What was my reaction? My first reaction was to look down and snicker. Not going to lie. But only for a second. I looked back up with a smile and assessed the situation. The student presenter was smiling in acknowledgement of his accidental word play, but was ready to continue with the rest of his project. I asked him to stop presenting for a moment, then asked the class if they were ready to continue and that reminded them that laugh time expired.

Why this worked...
The student presenter was comfortable to continue presenting in front of a calm class.
What the kid said WAS funny... No one deserved a punishment unless it was taken too far.
I hope that all students know that it's ok to slip up when you're talking in front of a group. I'll be there to make sure the class climate is orderly and is always conducive to a comfortable learning environment.

Should I mention the story of the kid with the peanut?.....

What is something one your students said and you couldn't help but chuckle too?