Anyway, there's this boy in one of my classes that complains a lot about everything! He gets so down on himself no matter how encouraging I try to be. If we're playing capture the flag and he isn't the one to grab the flag and bring it back, or if he gets tagged while running, he'll sit on the ground with his legs crossed, head buried in his face and won't participate. If we're playing football and the quarterback doesn't throw him the ball, he'll throw a tantrum and start crying. If we're playing volleyball and the ball isn't hit towards him because he wants to pass it so badly, he'll stomp on the floor with his fists clenched and start yelling.
And so today we were playing basketball for PE. Boys playing each other on one court and girls on the other to. I separated the teams as even as possible so it would be fair and hopefully, none of the kids would complain. Just two minutes into playing, and already trouble! This boy was dribbling the basketball, as happy as can be, with such a huge smile on his face, when one of the other kids came from behind and stole the ball away from him. Smile gone! I've never seen a mood swing as fast as this boy's, not even in some girls I know that can get pretty crazy. This boy went off! He first roared out a loud frustrating sound towards the ceiling, arms tight while clenching his fists towards the ground. Then he stomped every step over in my direction, grinding his teeth with his hands on his head (looked like he was going to pull his hair out). I said with a calm voice,
"______ (name confidential*), you need to keep playing, that's part of the game."
"HOW CAN I KEEP PLAYING MR. OSTOS IF THEY KEEP TAKING THE BALL FROM ME?!!?"
"It was just once and you can protect the ball better and pass to your teammates ______."
"BUT I'M NOT THAT GOOD! THEY HAVE TO LET ME DRIBBLE! IT'S THE RULES!"
"I want you to keep trying ______. Don't give up just because someone took it from you one time."
By this point whenever kids come to me complaining or whining to me about something, they start making up excuses, thinking they can argue with me. And this boy straight up lied to me!
"BUT ________ AND _________ WERE HITTING MY ARMS AND FOULING ME! THEY'RE CHEATING! THEY'RE NOT PLAYING FAIR! I DON'T WANNA PLAY THIS GAME ANYMORE. I DON'T WANNA PLAY THIS GAME EVER AGAIN!"
And he starts walking away from me and I raise my voice for him to come back and go play the game. He complies but doesn't want the ball anymore. He just kinda slowly walks back and forth on the court with his head down, hands in his pocket while the other kids run back and forth past him. This is what I go through on a daily basis and I love my job!
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