Please be careful when calling your young child by a nickname at home because sometimes it comes back to bite you in the ass. Every year for the first week of school I am delivered a new class of kindergartners everyday. The teacher is always exhausted from trying to deal with these Newbies and will run off as quickly as possible. I am left with a group of 13 to 15 children starring at me. At least three will have fingers in their noses. Two will be scratching in various disgusting places and there are always two who are hugging or inappropriately touching each other. I must then figure out who is who. I have a list from the office of who is "suppose" to be in each class. But if a parent showed up on the first day of school to register their child, they will not be on that list. Also if a parent decided they did not like a certain teacher and got their child moved to another class they will also not be on the correct list. So I then must resort to the one thing I dread most. Asking the children what their names are. If I'm very lucky a child can clearly tell me their first and last name and can give me a hint as to proper spelling. How often does this happen? Almost never. I must then try to decipher the child's name. If is very similar to what they had to do in the book "The Da Vinci Code." Now if the child has been called by their given name all their life then there is a chance I will figure it out. If not, then all bets are off.
Example 1: Mrs. Honey: "What is your name little boy?"
*Note: Said Boy is sporting the tallest freestanding Mohawk I have seen to date. Really it was quite spectacular.
Little Boy: "They call me ROOSTER"
And I must say the nickname fit!
Example 2: Now I must admit, I have a penchant for nicknames and often give others nicknames for the heck of it. Many of my students have earned nicknames and I rarely ever call my own children by their real names. This example is about a nickname that I Mrs. Honey bestowed upon a child.
The little boys name is William Thomas @@@@@. But he has always been called WT. So when he started school in kindergarten I would make up different things that the W and T stood for and see if I got them right. He thought this was funny. This led to his permanent name of WILBUR TURKEYLEGS. Which I still to this day call him in class and which he answers to. Wilbur Turkeylegs will be in 5th grade this year. So he has spent 5 years with that name thanks to me!
*Please note at the end of the class the kids who had been scratching "Those" places are always the same kids who want to hug you!
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