Tattle Tale, Tattle Tale...

So, now that I've gone from teaching 4th grade to 2nd grade, a few things have changed for me. One thing is the unbelievable amount of goofy junk that the kids choose to come and tattle about. I thought it was bad in 4th grade, but I guess the younger you go, the lower the ability to just get over it. I have to admit, I'm not the most patient or sympathetic person when it comes to this kind of stuff, so rather than bark out the response that I would like to give them -- a nice, hearty, "I DON'T CARE!"-- I went with the old teacher method of a tattle box. This way, they write down their tattle and stick it in the box, which turns a completely annoying issue into a hilarious one for me. Before I go on, I have to tell you that when you're dealing with kids this young, very few of them are good at being sneaky, so serious issues are out there. Everything that ends up in the tattle box is just ridiculous complaints, which, you'll see, is why I'd like to say, "So what?" or "I don't care!" at times. Here are some juicy little tidbits that were in the box today:

• Fernando was telling me no no no no no no no and he was talking over and over again, and Joseph.
• Joseph was bothering me and telling me can I borrow the re re re re re re re re re RED.
• Kristina was telling me to dig in my nose.
• Ishmael is putting names in the tattle box and the people didn't do anything (side note -- yes, there were a TON of just names in there with nothing else - the tattle box also serves as a torture device).
• Rebecca made a mad face and copied Keylin.
• Joseph was trying to take the diamonds off my shoes.
• Joseph was bothering me.
• Joel was beating on his desk with a pencil.
• Alex is bothering me.
• Bailey will not be quiet.
• Joel won't leave me alone.
• Elizabeth is bothering me.
• Joel had the books on his head.
• Ishmael has a Pokemon card in his pocket.
• Joseph was pushing me from the line.
• Joseph was being mean.
• Joel keeps coming to our table and I'm trying to finish my work and he will never leave us alone.
• Joseph is out of his seat.
• Joseph was in the "cunputer". (the computers are right by the door, so touching them when we line up is a constant problem for some)
• Joel was telling me bad words.
• Alexander tripped me.
• When I work in my math book Joseph sees at my book.

So, this is why I refuse to let them tell me anymore, and now it makes me laugh every day. It sounds like I'm running a zoo, but any other teachers out there will understand.