~Poop On Jelly~

Our Family's Bitter/Sweet Life



Tuesday, August 25, 2009

My Knight In Dirty Scrubs

Mrs. Nurse Boy here.

It is time for another True Story Tuesday! Go check it out HERE. for some fun and laughs! And, now for my very own true story...

Before I had kids of my own, I taught third grade in the inner city. And, by "inner city," I mean there were bullet holes in the windows. Yeah, not the kind of neighborhood you dream of raising your kids in. I had a love/hate relationship with that job. Those kids needed me, but their parents were a mess. (And, I am being kind here.) I usually met about 40 percent of my classroom parents during any given year. Sometimes the meetings were delightful and sometimes they were anything but.

Which brings me to Shayla and her mother.

Shayla was about 5'3" and 150 pounds in the third grade. (So, I am exaggerating a bit. It makes for a better story, OK?) She was definitely a classroom bully. She liked to call the shots and she loved to pick on the weak. She was tough, as were most of the kids in my classroom. They had to be, considering the neighborhood in which they lived.

But, there is always a weak one in the bunch. James was about 3'5" and 40 pounds. (Stay with me here. I am trying to tell a good story, remember?) He was the only white student in my classroom and he defined skinny and scrawny.

Shayla hated him. That was obvious from the first moment that I met Shayla and her mother. Together, they requested that Shayla and James never sit near each other. Shayla's mother insisted that James had spent the last 2 years bullying Shayla.

This was laughable. To this day, I don't think Shayla's mother ever laid eyes on poor little, scrawny James. I mean, if Shayla sat on James, he wouldn't have had a chance. It was obvious that Shayla was indeed the bully in that relationship.

Shayla's mom spent the first 2 weeks of school calling me about random problems on the bus, in the classroom, and on the playground. Problems that only existed in Shayla's imagination.

Then it happened.

One morning Shayla's mom made her way to my 3rd floor classroom. All 400 hundred pounds of her. (No, I am not exaggerating now.) It was before school. The hallways were empty and quiet. It was clear that she had not reported to the office first and she wasn't in a pleasant mood. She quickly entered my classroom and proudly placed herself between me and the office call button. It was like a movie. I glanced around the room looking for an escape to the hallway. I was cornered and she knew it. She was yammering on about "the bully" James as she was slowly coming nearer. She reminded me of a mad cat. You know how they puff up to twice their size? Yeah, she did that!

I don't even remember what she was saying. I was terrified that she had me cornered and I was all alone.

Next thing I know, Nurse Boy walked right into my classroom. (He had had a stressful night at the hospital. He drove several miles out of his way to see me before he headed home to bed. Something he had never done before.) Shayla's mom backed off as soon as she saw him, even though Nurse Boy and I both know she could have taken him. He was my knight in dirty scrubs.

Turns out Shayla wasn't the only bully in the family.

But, she never bothered to come up to the classroom uninvited after that.

Thankfully!

19 comments:

Kmama said...

Whoa! Thank goodness it didn't end differently!! When I worked in a hospital, we had a few issues like that. Trying to figure out your escape route is never a fun process!!

He & Me + 3 said...

That is a crazy story. Teaching can be a scary job sometimes. It brings out the Mama bears sometimes and it isn't even the teachers fault. So glad your hubs showed up. Good grief that might have not been pretty.

Emily said...

woah, what a crazy story! Thanks goodness for your knight in dirty scrubs. Sounds like she was like most bullies; they are cowards when it really comes down to it!

Foursons said...

Wow! You have a knight in shining armor! Or nurse scrubs...whatever. Totally the same thing.

lsnellings said...

that is scary! unfortunately, bullies and their bullying parents exist in ALL schools even the dignified private school I taught in. I had this one girl that was so manipulative and mean, it just made me want to scream! But she always blamed someone else and I couldn't do anything about it. Because of course, she was perfect! I almost quit the day her father called me up and yelled at me.

On Stage said...

That's a great story. I wish you lived closer. We could compare teaching stories.

I had my classroom window shot out by the local "welcome wagon". Then there was the dad who dropped a bag of pot while paying his child's registration fees.... ahhhh, the memories =)

Hillary @ The Other Mama said...

WOW!! Cra-zhay! I was hoping that James was going to walk in and scare the beJesus out of her. But I'm glad it was Nurse Boy. And I hope he had blood on his scrubs.

Mummy McTavish said...

Awww, that's so wonderful. Sounds like she probably could have sat on both of you and won!

I had a friend that was 4' somthing and TINY. She was studying education at uni and I always wondered how she would deal with pushy parents when she got into the classroom... she was less than threatening! She got pregnant and never finished uni so I guess we'll never know.

PS... I don't think I was the only one hoping that Nurse Boy would turn up in blood soaked scrubs saying something like "wow, that last one just did't want to die" and scary-mama would flee the room as fast as her 400lb frame would carry her! But I'm into the horror movie thing this week, it's Boy Mom's fault.

Boy Mom said...

Scary, too bad you didn't have my 12 inch hunting knife hidden somewhere in room, sounds like you could have used it along with some Psycho Soccer Mom attitude.

I love how these wonderful men of ours always seem to know when we really need them.

momstheword said...

Wow, I was totally hoping that James would show up and you'd be saying "This is James!"

Nice to have hubby show up, though.

You owe him one, lol!

Mr. Daddy said...

Loved the story. I have been reading a book by DR. Gary Namie PhD and his wife about the Bully at Work, man you hit all the high points. LOL

Good thing your hubs in scrubs showed.

Mr. and Mrs. Nurse Boy said...

Boy Mom,
It was before Columbine and 9-11 and all that stuff, but I still think 12 inch hunting knife in the classroom would have been a job killer. I suppose I would have to put it there without her knowing so she could weild it while trying to reach for her water. I had no blood on my scrubs, it was probably after one of my patients puked stool. That always made for a bad night.

Mr. and Mrs. Nurse Boy said...

Nurse Boy,
It was actually the night one of your patients threw a phone at you... and, I'm not talking about a cell phone. The police were called and you stayed on as that patient's nurse for the remainder of the evening. Yep, it is a post all in of itself! The city sure wasn't kind to us for those 24 hours!

Mrs. NB

Ruby Red Slippers said...

I know what you mean about scary parents and teaching-I had a mom throw her crutch at me when dicussing her son's jr. high report card...
And I had one parent hand me a stack of books dealing with the "Youngest Child Syndrome" so I could 'better understand' her horrid son. I told her-I married a youngest of five! I didn't need her books-I was living it,and happy- and she might want to save it for his wife one day if she wanted to make excuses for his terrible behavior...
There are some things I do not miss about teaching...
Your story was priceless!

Brandi said...

Yikes! I bet you have TONS of good stories being a teacher. My FIL and BIL are both teachers and. . . wow, the things they've told me!

Mummy McTavish said...

THREW A PHONE AT YOU???

Now, I know there is a Russel Crow joke in there somewhere but in my current decaffeinated state I can't think of it....

Rachel said...

So now I also want to hear the "patient threw a phone at your husband" story - cuz Lawd knows you both have to encounter some pretty interesting situations!

Though Mummy McTavish's comment had me rolling in the aisles...

I am SO glad you were safe! Ya know... my tried-and-true trick has always been to say that my dad can beat up their dad. Just sayin'... in case that would help ya out some other time...

(but it really helps if you have a 6' tall muscle-bound bald biker dude dad who is in law enforcement... yeah...)

Anonymous said...

Oh my, my heart is racing just reading your story! What is it with people and their need to be bully's? The universe works in mysterious ways...Thank god Mr. Nurse boy picked-up on you needing him (even if only sub-consciously). :)

ღJessicaღ said...

That's funny! thanks for sharing. Your children are adorable!Love their eyes! =)