“What Was I Thinking?”
Mob mentality + children + aluminum cans = YIKES!
Don’t laugh, this was quite embarassing.
We were having an aluminum can drive to raise awareness about the importance of recycling. Yesterday was the last day of the drive and we had a whole bunch of cans in a bag that needed to be crushed and counted. So after lunch the kids have recess and I picked two of my more hyperactive boys to help me crush the cans. Crushing cans is basically better than a trip to Disney World. In fact i’m not sure why I waste money on rewards and incentives, I really should just be bringing in empty soda cans for them to stomp the hell out of.
So my two boys brought the bag outside to the side walk, and one proceeded to turn the bag upside down and allowed the cans to spill out. Lots of noise! Life is good! The two kids started stomping on the cans.
All was going well.
Then hell broke lose.
Never in my wildest imagination could I have pictured the scenario that unfolded. Within approximately 15 seconds while my life was flashing before my eyes, every single student in the courtyard came literally racing towards the pile of cans and began stomping them like there was no tomorrow. The other two teachers standing there were frozen with shock. The insanity that surrounded me left me momentarily speechless. Then I did all that I could think to do at that moment which was to shout, “Go Away! Go Away!”
Now I may have guessed that other students would have come up and asked to help. But never could I have fathomed that they’d attack the cans like pigeons on french fries.
Shocked at themselves they disbursed quickly. The other classes had raced to their windows to see what was going on. The Assistant Principal was drawn from her office and I was left with two very frustrated boys who’d just had Christmas stolen from them by the viscious stompers. We did our best to count the remains of the cans, some of which had been smushed to smithereens.
I have become the talk of the school– the teacher who started The Mob.
I will never live this down. March 30th a day of infamy. The day the cans caused a riot.
What the hell was I thinking?