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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