Thursday, January 7, 2016

Sankalpa 2

Geez!  Back to school has been fun and furious.  I've thought about my sankalpa, "I am a creative risk-taker" each day, and yesterday, in its spirit, I addressed some common middle school problems head on.

I passed one research group and noticed an offensive smell.  "Someone keeps farting," Michelle reported.

"I smell that," I said.  "If you need to use the bathroom, you can sign out."

In spite of my friendly advice about minimizing smells, I noticed members of that group with their shirts pulled up over their faces like gas masks for the next 20 minutes.  Things were getting out of control.  At the same time, Robin got an email asking for feedback on a student in the same class who has persistent body odor.

"Oh for goodness sake," Robin said.  "Let's just handle this."  Because I'm a creative risk-taker, I agreed.

A few minutes later, I rang the bell for attention.  "Close your Chrome Books," I sang.  "This is critical."  I did a few-minutes-long monologue about the realities of sixth grade.  If your tummy is rumbling, you need to excuse yourself, rather than letting it rip in the classroom.  We all have b.o. from time to time, it's natural!  Let's make sure we're wearing deodorant that's an antiperspirant, as well.  Sometimes, Robin added, you need to reapply deodorant after lunch.  I keep it in my desk drawer!  You have to wash your clothes, I added.  Shower at least every-other day - get the soap in your pits.

"Are you trying to make us feel uncomfortable?" asked Michelle.

"This isn't uncomfortable," I said.  "It's life!  Should I cover any other puberty-related topics while I'm at it?  Should we move onto menstruation?"  Everyone, as it turns out, was happy to return to their work.

2 comments:

Mary M. said...

Once again, well played!

jhw said...

Well done!!!