So everyone has pet peeves

But what if you have a student that is a total pet peeve of yours?

Yes, I realize that this makes me sound like a bitch. I am a teacher and I am supposed to love and adore every single one of my students. Well let me just tell you that this is bullshit and whoever said that was on fucking drugs.

Anyway.

There's this kid. He has OCD - BAD. Literally everything he does drives me nuts. He walks in late. He spaces out. He mats his bangs down on his face constantly. He asks the strangest questions at the most inappropriate times. He never finishes his art projects because he is either organizing his colored pencils or he is too worried about making it perfect.

But music class is so much worse. We're doing recorder and while he can recognize the notes on the page and show you how it's fingered on the recorder, that's basically the extent. Normally, he just doesn't play with the rest of the class. And I keep having to get him back on task.

Today he developed a new tick.

Now he can't have any spit in his recorder.

Which means that after every single note that he plays, he immediatel has to take this big, huge, loud suck through the recorder to get the spit back that just might have gone into the instrument. Every. Damn. Time.

The sound can be heard even when everyone else in the class is playing at the same time. It makes other kids stop and turn around. It makes me want to lose my lunch.

So I talked to the class about how they should breath when they are playing their instrument. And even what they should do if their nose is stopped up. But does that help the situation?

NO.

I asked him to please stop making that noise and he argued that his recorder won't play when there is spit inside.

Then he took the whole damn thing apart.

Then he put it back together again and starting sucking through it again.

I wanted to punch him.

He is my pet peeve.

Oh, and he's also the kid that is afraid of cameras and refuses to stand in the front row at the Christmas program. So even if he does manage to learn the damn music, he's going to spend the whole time up there on the risers ducking behind other students to get away from the camera flash.

This kid needs help. Because I can't give it to him!