Oh So Fun!

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Home : 2004 : December : 1

Oh So Fun!
By Fourth Grade Teacher

I have one of those this year. She is a bully, she is sarcastic, she constantly rolls her eyes, she makes comments under her breath, and is just generally disrespectful. To top it all off, she is popular and all the other
little girls want to be around her and immitate her! It is a nightmare. Three things help me keep my sanity and self-esteem as she tears me down and tells the other kids how "stupid" all of my activities are. One, there are a number of very sweet, loving kids who are in my class that love all of the activities we do and couldn't care less what she thinks. Two, having grown up at this

point I know what kind of person she is going to turn out to be. This makes me feel sorry for her and everyone she will come into contact with. Three, and sometimes this one is hard to keep in mind, she is only ten. I am the adult. Sometimes I have to repeat that one to myself quite a few times before I remember but that is the most important thing. By letting her actions and words bother me I am sinking to the maturity level of a ten year old child. That's just not O.K.

How to get her to change? I'd love suggestions, too. After being told by a fellow teacher during a discussion on bullying that she was part of the problem, not part of the solution, she sat with a smirk on her face and had absolutely no reaction. I realize that she must have her own problems (although indications are that home life is good) but it's hard to sympathize with a child who goes out of her way to be mean to me and other students. Yuck!