2/23/11

Sometimes reading and writing are not the most important lessons we teach.


I've spent much of the year trying to convince Frank that telling tall tales all the time is not always the way to go.


In fact, telling the truth is a challenge for him.



He's been making great progress this year, and pretty much owns up to most of "crimes" he commits. But he still loves a good tall tale.



I was listening to him yesterday while the kids were working in their journals. He was very animated as he recounted his latest adventure in the woods to the two adorable girls that he was sitting with.

"I was in my back yard and there was the deer! I was using my hand and I punched the deer in the face! With one punch! Then he was UNCOSHUS! He was just layin' on the ground UNCOSHUS!"




Then I saw him look over at me. I gave him the "teacher says to tell the truth" look that I've honed over the last 22 years. I gave it everything I had!



Frank stared at me for a minute, and I could see the battle on his shoulders begin. He cocked his head, and then turned to the girls.





"Just kiddin'."






Reading? Yeah, we can worry about that later. Right now I am celebrating an even bigger victory.







28 comments:

Mr. Halpern said...

Love it. My favorites are the 'one ups' that happen during sharing. By the time we get to the end of the circle, I usually have one little girl who has been to Disney (four times) seen EVERY movie releases, owns EVERY toy ever made, and lost EVERY tooth in her mouth. :)

Unknown said...

Celebrate your victories til your UNCOSHUS.
Have a great day sweetie :)

Alex@LateEnough said...

Expect to find me at a mirror all day. Working on my look

Mrs. E said...

And it's all in that teacher look! (Now when you find yourself using it with adults---?!!)

Unknown said...

That must be some look you've developed there; a veritable weapon!

Laura said...

I think you're teaching Frank the.most.important.lesson.ever. It'll affect everything he does.
Kudos!

Fiona Picklebottom said...

I don't recall if I've commented here before, but I love your Frank stories. :)

My 4-year-old likes to watch her sisters get on the school bus in the morning. She likes me to watch with her. Lately, she's been calling me in to look out the window because "the bus is here!" just to get me from whatever I am doing and have me come into the room where she is. Today we had this conversation:

Me: If you keep doing that, I'm going to miss when it really comes because I won't believe you.

Her: I'm not lying, I was just kidding.

Me: I don't see much difference in this case.

Her: The difference between lying and kidding is that when you're kidding your mom is still happy.

:)

Brian Miller said...

smiles. where would frank be without you...

Heather said...

Ha! I love this. I love that little boy, too. And I totally agree that education is more than reading and test scores. Thank you!

Elaine said...

I can picture that look exactly! Just love that Frank.

Miche said...

You are amazing and I bow to you! 4 years and I'm still working on my look.

Your Frank needs to meet my family of 3... their dad is an astronaut, a bazillionaire and the president of the US. If we read about it, dad's done it! Definitely working on more than reading there. ;)

Pepe Le Pew said...

Forget that nonsense. The tall-tales are much cooler.

Suzy said...

You might be saving the world from another lawyer.

Alexandra said...

Very, very nice.

And..OMG! to what Suzy said.

Tom Erdman said...

I've been a very rude reader. This is the first comment I've ever made. It kind of feels like going to confession. I love your stuff and I recommend it to everyone within earshot. Thanks for being a great teacher. Good luck in your new life.

Joanie said...

When my oldest was little, there was a boy on our street who figured out he could punch or push Gina down, so long as he said, "Sorry, Gina." every time he did it. He sounds a lot like Frank!

Joanie said...

I see you're moving up on Babble!! #39 as of this morning. It won't let me vote. :(

noexcuses said...

Wouldn't it be fun to get all the above together in one room? What a great party it would be!

I love what Suzy said. I used to be a legal secretary!

My youngest is 18 and I'm still working on the look!

Thanks for sharing Vodkamom!!

Macey said...

Okay, that is adorable!!

Anonymous said...

Yay! Well done. I love that look. I don't even have kids yet but I've been working on it ever since helping to raise my little sisters. I can make adults shiver. :D

Have an Extraordinary Day!

Lorraine said...

I want you to imagine your 20-something-year-old daughter introducing you to her new boyfriend from Staten Island who drives a meat delivery truck and delivers in NJ and he begins to tell you about his encounter with the deer - with horns, not antlers - who walked right up to him and his truck and he the boyfriend said it was so close he wanted to reach right out and punch the deer "uncoshus" in his Staten Island accent. I don't know what was worse - the story or the fact that he looked like Uncle Fenster! Thankfully, he didn't last long - the daughter got the look from mom.

Unknown said...

So funny! We are going through the same with my 6 yr old daughter! It's hard for them to realize the difference between telling tales and telling lies. On the flip side, the tales are usually pretty funny, aren't they?

Gigi said...

Oh Frank! What are we going to do with him? Thank goodness he's got you!

Sharon Rose said...

Good job Ms. Smyth!

Instilling truth now will save Frank from a sad life later.

I had a look like that when Jody was little. Like Frank, he could tell some of the tallest tales. I think it may have had something to do with "the look" that helped him eventually grow out of it.

Notes From ABroad said...

Some of us were Tall Tale Tellers as children and now find it is something that makes others smile or at least enjoy themselves for a minute..which gives the Tale Teller a good feeling :)

Rima said...

Well, I'm really glad he didn't punch the deer. Hasn't he ever hear of "When Animals Attack"???

Dawn said...

I went on a date recently with a proclaimed "bad boy". He told me that it felt like I was looking RIGHT through him... I told him it was my teacher stare. LOL
Lovin' that it works in multiple situations ;)

Kimberly said...

That's a MAJOR victory! Yeah for you (and for Frank).