Monday, May 12, 2025
I lost an 8th grader today. To be honest, I have never even thought about losing an 8th grader before. I think about losing elementary kids every second I am in class with them. (I mean, think about it. I go into a class of 20-30 kids whom I have never met, don’t know their names, and have little idea of their schedule. I am literally counting all the time we are out of the classroom and the door is shut when we are in the classroom. I actively work on not losing them. Eighth graders apparently not so much.)
Just at the end of 5th hour, a para who was in the beginning of the class asked me where XXXXX was. I said I don’t know – I don’t know him. She said he probably went to the nurse. A kid who had gone to the nurse said he wasn’t there, but he was out walking around in the hall when he went to the nurse. She said, okay, I’ll find him.
Just as 6th hour started, the attendance lady (different school, not the attendance sub from the other day) called and asked if he had been in class. I looked at the seating chart. I did not recognize the kid. I remembered handing out three assignments for the first row, and he was the fourth kid in the row. I said I didn’t think he had been there but wasn’t sure. (Saying that makes you look and feel like a fool).
Mid-6th hour an administrator came in and asked about the kid again. He was still missing. I said there was a lot of coming and going 5th hour – the special ed teacher and a random group leave after the lesson (anyone can choose to go across the hall to work with her. The group varies every day, and I never thought about keeping track), a kid got called to the office, a kid went to the nurse, couple restroom passes. I still couldn’t remember the kid. I thought I knew who came and went, except for the special ed group. I was feeling decidedly weird that a kid disappeared.
I talked to the special ed teacher after class. She said he definitely didn’t come over to her room, he never had. She also said he was there at the beginning of the class – someone else in his row was absent so three was the right number of assignments, including his. At that point, I was definitely very, very confused. He had been there. Then he wasn’t.
Spooky?
When I signed out at the end of the day, they had found him. He left. He left the building halfway through the class period. He walked out with the special ed group, but just kept walking.
Huuuh.
I will now think about losing eighth graders.
POTD is a baby bunny running out of the garage, after he ran into the garage. He hid in the tool bench and had to be coaxed out with a stick. Bye bunny. Don’t eat my flowers.