Well, Thing 2 had a bit of a day today. Some kids march to a different drummer. Thing 2, in all his titian glory, has a syncopated orchestral percussion section devoted just to him.
Mostly, this is amusing and sweet. The overly loud resonant voice, the goofy faces and idiosyncratic mannerisms, the inability to walk in a straight line, or even consistently forward for long (think Billy from Family Circle). We're at a nice school—public even—where kids are very sweet to him in spite of the fact that in second grade he still bursts into tears at the slightest disappointment. For instance, when other kids change the imaginary game in a way that he doesn't like, or his teacher takes away the book he's surreptitiously reading during class time...but he makes up for it by being a soft-hearted and thoughtful little hug-bunny. Also, he's hilarious.
As a parent employed at the school, I happened to wander into the cafeteria for iced tea in time to see Thing 2 go through the lunch checkout. (I forgot some supplies, so he was breathlessly anticipating the holy grail of school lunches: Uncrustables and chocolate milk.) So cute. As got my iced tea, his li'l posse swarmed me "Mrs H! Did you know that there is a bad finger?! I didn't know before, but now I know!! What does the finger mean? Can you do it?" Yeek! Not my kids, so I'm not telling. I passed a message on that their teacher might want to gloss over this subject after lunch.
About ten minutes later, the teacher comes into the library, where I lunch in peace with the librarian. Oh my. Turns out, the issue had already been addressed before my arrival, given that Thing 2 was apparently flying the bird high and proud in the cafeteria line while asking the other kids if "it was the right way." Naturally, they all pointed to him and shouted "look!". He's so clueless, honestly.
His teacher, a darling East Indian lady, with a darling East Indian accent laughs at me "It was your kid! What do you teach him at home anyway?" (Imagine Apu saying this. Its funny.) She said that she told Thing 2 it was "a very impolite and rude gesture", and that "he must not do it again" (again, accent.) Then she told me that she had been in the US for several years before she even knew what it meant, "how do the kids pick this up anyway?"
After school, I asked Thing 2 about the incident with the teacher (which went strangely unmentioned before, he's clueless, but not stupid). He said that if he does it again, he has to go see the principal. He seemed a little worried, like maybe it was going to happen spontaneously. Which, knowing him, is actually possible.
Honestly, I have no one idea where he got this.
I just curse, I don't use gestures, they're too imprecise.
Mostly, this is amusing and sweet. The overly loud resonant voice, the goofy faces and idiosyncratic mannerisms, the inability to walk in a straight line, or even consistently forward for long (think Billy from Family Circle). We're at a nice school—public even—where kids are very sweet to him in spite of the fact that in second grade he still bursts into tears at the slightest disappointment. For instance, when other kids change the imaginary game in a way that he doesn't like, or his teacher takes away the book he's surreptitiously reading during class time...but he makes up for it by being a soft-hearted and thoughtful little hug-bunny. Also, he's hilarious.
As a parent employed at the school, I happened to wander into the cafeteria for iced tea in time to see Thing 2 go through the lunch checkout. (I forgot some supplies, so he was breathlessly anticipating the holy grail of school lunches: Uncrustables and chocolate milk.) So cute. As got my iced tea, his li'l posse swarmed me "Mrs H! Did you know that there is a bad finger?! I didn't know before, but now I know!! What does the finger mean? Can you do it?" Yeek! Not my kids, so I'm not telling. I passed a message on that their teacher might want to gloss over this subject after lunch.
About ten minutes later, the teacher comes into the library, where I lunch in peace with the librarian. Oh my. Turns out, the issue had already been addressed before my arrival, given that Thing 2 was apparently flying the bird high and proud in the cafeteria line while asking the other kids if "it was the right way." Naturally, they all pointed to him and shouted "look!". He's so clueless, honestly.
His teacher, a darling East Indian lady, with a darling East Indian accent laughs at me "It was your kid! What do you teach him at home anyway?" (Imagine Apu saying this. Its funny.) She said that she told Thing 2 it was "a very impolite and rude gesture", and that "he must not do it again" (again, accent.) Then she told me that she had been in the US for several years before she even knew what it meant, "how do the kids pick this up anyway?"
After school, I asked Thing 2 about the incident with the teacher (which went strangely unmentioned before, he's clueless, but not stupid). He said that if he does it again, he has to go see the principal. He seemed a little worried, like maybe it was going to happen spontaneously. Which, knowing him, is actually possible.
Honestly, I have no one idea where he got this.
I just curse, I don't use gestures, they're too imprecise.
