Aaron and the Ground Squirrel
I was teaching 4th grade and I had a great class. When I say they were a great class, I certainly don't mean that they were all academic over-achievers or even that they were the best-behaved class I ever taught. But this class was a fun group. There were quite a few characters in my room. Some of the personalities were just hilarious and they made me laugh on a daily - sometimes hourly basis.
One young black man in particular was named Aaron and he was a smooth fellow. He was a very nice-looking boy and all the girls were in love with him - and he knew it. Every boy wanted to be friends with him because he was cool. He strutted into my room every day and every boy and girl there had to say "Good morning, Aaron!" And he would acknowledge them all with a cocky tip of his head and then would saunter to his seat where someone else would usually sharpen his pencils for him. If he hadn't been so likable, he would have really gotten on my nerves!
One day, we were reading aloud a chapter in our science book. The class had read it silently the day before so they were all ready to read out loud. Things were going well until Aaron's turn.
Aaron's paragraph began with, "In the spring, the ground squirrel emerges from him burrow to nibble at the tender grass."
He cleared his throat and waited until he was certain that everyone was listening to him. Then he began, "In the spring the ground squirrel emerges from his burrow to nipple..."
His voice trailed off when he realized what he had just accidentally said. As the snickers and guffaws rang out through the room, Aaron dropped his head onto his desk and I saw the tips of his ears turn pink.
I, of course, tried to pretend that he had said nothing wrong. I waited until the laughter had subsided and said quietly, "Aaron, that word is nibble."
Without lifting his head, Aaron raised his hand and said, "Mrs. Pate, you're gonna have to go on without me. I cannot recover!"
To this day, I can't see a picture of a ground squirrel without thinking about Aaron!
One young black man in particular was named Aaron and he was a smooth fellow. He was a very nice-looking boy and all the girls were in love with him - and he knew it. Every boy wanted to be friends with him because he was cool. He strutted into my room every day and every boy and girl there had to say "Good morning, Aaron!" And he would acknowledge them all with a cocky tip of his head and then would saunter to his seat where someone else would usually sharpen his pencils for him. If he hadn't been so likable, he would have really gotten on my nerves!
One day, we were reading aloud a chapter in our science book. The class had read it silently the day before so they were all ready to read out loud. Things were going well until Aaron's turn.
Aaron's paragraph began with, "In the spring, the ground squirrel emerges from him burrow to nibble at the tender grass."
He cleared his throat and waited until he was certain that everyone was listening to him. Then he began, "In the spring the ground squirrel emerges from his burrow to nipple..."
His voice trailed off when he realized what he had just accidentally said. As the snickers and guffaws rang out through the room, Aaron dropped his head onto his desk and I saw the tips of his ears turn pink.
I, of course, tried to pretend that he had said nothing wrong. I waited until the laughter had subsided and said quietly, "Aaron, that word is nibble."
Without lifting his head, Aaron raised his hand and said, "Mrs. Pate, you're gonna have to go on without me. I cannot recover!"
To this day, I can't see a picture of a ground squirrel without thinking about Aaron!
posted by Felicia at 11:04 AM
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