Hailey and Ms. Stripes’ Heart to Heart

So I stopped by Kinzville Academy today to surprise Ms. Stripes with a bunch of flowers as a thank you for being such a great client. Ms. Cowoline directed me to her class and as I waited outside for her to dismiss the kids it seemed like a very different Ms. Stripes than the one I knew was in that classroom. It sounded like Sparky dropped his hat on the floor and Ms. Stripes accused him of doing it on purpose to disrupt the class. When Sparky tried to explain that his hat fell off when he bent over to pick up his pencil, Ms. Stripes told him that for speaking back to her he was going to have to stay in for recess. Then when Nibbles tried to explain that she saw the hat fall off, Ms. Stripes told her to stay in too.

When Ms. Stripes came out and saw me, I guess the shock on my face was apparent. She invited me to come for a coffee in the staff room and explained that although she may sound tough, she has to be firm because she is new and the kids wouldn’t respect her if she wasn’t tough.

I asked Ms. Stripes if she would mind me being honest with her and she said of course not. Then I told her that I thought the kids would respect her if she treated them with respect. I said I thought that kids responded to fairness and honesty, and that if Ms. Stripes showed the kids the Ms. Stripes that Elwin and I got to know so well, the kids would be sure to respect her because she is kind and decent.

Ms. Stripes tried to explain to me that kids aren’t supposed to like their teacher and that if she is nice, they will misbehave and take advantage. Then I asked her if the kids in Miss Daisy’s class like her and how well do they behave? Ms. Stripes thought about it for a moment and then said that Miss Daisy’s kids love her AND they are the most well behaved class in the school.

I asked if Ms. Stripes thought that might have anything to do with the fact that Miss Daisy makes her lessons fun and enjoyable so that the kids actually WANT to be in her class and are engaged with learning. Ms. Stripes said that I had given her a lot to think about, but that she owed me a thank you because being so hard on the kids all the time was taking its toll on her. She felt like she wasn’t being herself.

We said goodbye then. I really hope that I got through to her. She is so nice – I wish the kids could see her as I do.