Chaperone

Sometimes I wonder if I am qualified to chaperone field trips...especially since I had to hop over two barricades, scale a wall and slide down a fence to get un-locked-out of my school today. In spite of my doubts, today I chaperoned twenty third graders from our after-school program on a field trip to Rapid.

The day started off hectic. I had a couple of kids try to sneak onto the bus, though they had never been to Wo Lakota. There wasn't enough room on the bus for K-3 so my kids had to triple up. Plus, I had to sit in the very back of the bus, where suspension is not existent. By the time we had driven three miles, one girl had spilled blue Power Ade on my copy of Crime and Punishment, I was nauseous from being jostled and had been deemed a loser by a nine-year-old for not ever having kissed a boy (though she didn't dare use the term 'loser').

Things only got more interesting as the day wore on. I had to gather the lunch request of 20 crazy kids which was not a fun task. You cannot imagine how many ways a basic cheeseburger can be ordered! When we got to Wendy's things were even more chaotic as I attempted to match each box of fries and hamburger with its salivating owner. To my annoyance, several of the children whined about the delay or pouted about getting a smaller drink--though I will admit in hindsight that the complaints were minimal considering the delay. In fact, a few customers in the restaurant commented on how well-behaved my kids were. I did have to make little MM stand without a chair because she kept leaning it back (I taped it to the floor in the classroom).

After our experience at Wendy's we headed to the movie theatre where each child was allowed to pick out a huge box of candy, a super-size-me-size soda (in addition to the soda from Wendy's) and share a bag of popcorn so big, only the Brendsel clan would even attempt to return for seconds. I could only shake my head and wonder why people questioned the diabetes rate on the Rez.

The kids were allowed to see one of three movies: High School Musical 3, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Bolt and Madagascar: Escape to Africa. I would rather eat Mopani worms again than watch HS Musical 3 with boy crazy 3rd graders. Any movie with the words "Beverly Hills" and "Chihuahua" were out for me. And since I never saw the first Madagascar, Bolt was the only remaining option. So, I arranged all the children in line by movie presence and waited to watch Bolt.

Unfortunately, the experience was dampened by Hannah Montana. Remember her? She called little M fat. She started sobbing in line. I was really, really upset. I pulled Hannah aside and really reamed her. She was near tears by the time I was done with her. I don't know if I have the authority to temporarily suspend her from Wo Lakota, but I am formulating a re-education plan for Hannah. I am sick of her biting inappropriate remarks. It is time she was held accountable.

As for M, she was really, really hurt. The Wo Lakota director came over and very forcefully told her to wipe away her tears and remember that "Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you." I was extremely annoyed. Does anyone actually believe that is true? One word has the power to wound the soul for decades. When she left, I told M that I knew those words hurt and that she could cry all she wanted. But I am afraid her little soul is wounded.

We went to the movie, which was surprisingly good, and returned home without further incidence. It was a far more pleasant day (besides Hannah's awful remark) than I had imagined.