One of my favourite tasks each week is mentoring boys at Warburton Primary School. Sometimes we do classwork, sometimes we talk about life, and sometimes (their favourite) we play games on my iPad or PS Vita.
This Tuesday, as I entered the school foyer, the boy I was to meet first was sitting in the corner. He struggles with classrooms. He likes being out of his. I talked to the teacher and then took the boy into the mentoring room.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Shrug.
“Why were you sitting out?”
Shrug… pause… “Because I was singing and wouldn’t stop.”
“Singing? Wow! I didn’t know you’re a singer.” I lean in and whisper, “What were you singing?”
“I’m Elmo and I know it,” he looks up to gauge my reaction. “It’s a parody of ‘I’m Sexy and I Know It.’”
“Ah… So, your teacher wasn’t happy having Elmo in her class?”
“Not really. She just wanted me to stop and I wanted to finish the song.”
“I see.” We sit quiet for a few seconds and then I ask, “Have you heard the ‘I’m Nerdy and I Know It’ parody?”
He nods, without even a hint of a smile.
“My boys love it,” I continue, “It’s all about StarCraft and they love that game.” I mimic part of the chorus, “I play Zerg!”
A tiny smile emerges. “Well, yeah. I was singing the Elmo parody to a friend and I just wanted to finish.”
“And the teacher asked you to stop?”
“Yeah.”
“And you wouldn’t?”
“Yeah.”
“So you got sent out?”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds fair.”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to be in there anyway.”
“I know you didn’t,” I say, “Now, let’s have a look at our worksheet for today.” I can’t hold back a giggle as I turn to the page we are up to in his character development worksheets. “Look at that,” I laugh, “It’s called, The Choices I Make.”
He looks at the page and then up at me trying to discover the source of my joy.
“It’s a perfect topic for today. Wouldn’t you say?”
He get’s it … and smiles. “Yeah. I guess so.”
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For more parenting pondering,
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