Funny Friday - Tough Guy

Living and teaching in southern California has its advantages. One of my favorite things about our school buildings is that there are no indoor hallways. Every classroom opens to the great outdoors. We have a grassy area just outside my classroom with a scrub oak right in the middle. I have watched that oak grow over the years into a nice shade tree which is home to many kinds of birds.  

One year we had one of those birds join us in the classroom. This is not unusual but that particular year there was a boy in my class who had a great tough-guy act. (I teach 6th grade so my kiddos are just starting to try out their "big-boy pants".)

As the bird flew in, he scoffed at the students who were shrieking and ducking as it buzzed by their heads. He made a very loud declaration that everyone was overreacting. 

"It's just a little bird," he said. 

Just as he said it the bird clipped by the boy's head, we heard the most high-pitched shriek of them all, and suddenly the boy had disappeared under his desk cowering because of that little sparrow!

Luckily he was easy-going about it. He learned to laugh at himself a little bit more and that he didn't have to be the tough guy all the time. It helped me remember that even though kids try to act tough they are still kids. The "toughest" ones are usually the ones that need the most love and kindness!