A Surprising Situation Leads to a Surprising Punishment!

Third graders are an interesting bunch. They're very inquisitive in a variety of ways: most are very vocal, others love to draw (ON DESKS!),  the brainiacs that are disciplined and silent until I ask a question, and the rare few who are very quiet, curious, and always moving. In every class there is at least one boy who lifts his desk up at the back and sees how far it can go forward before they pull it back up or it falls on the floor. One kid, one of those "glue both sides of the worksheet" kids, has had his desk crash onto the floor on several separate occasions. I don't think he speaks a word of English and that's because his workbooks it glued shut. Big surprise.

But I digress, yesterday little Doe-Yoo, the infamous desk lifter of his class, was leaning back in his chair and rocking his desk at the same time as I taught the lesson. I kept checking him in my periphery as he lazily leaned back in his chair and pushing his desk up and forward with his knees. Then, because this is Grade 3, a student turns around in his chair and begins wailing on the boy behind him. Once my space cadet CT saw this act that has happened so many times before, and done absolutely nothing to prevent or punish previous offenders. Today was different I guess. She went on for a good 5 minutes and I forgot about Doe-Yoo. Coming back to the lesson I look to Doe-Yoo to answer a question. Low and behold his textbook is on the floor. Then I saw the most bizarre thing: All of the desks have a metal bar three inches off the floor for students to rest their feet on. Doe-Yoo had managed to get the front legs of his chair over this bar. He was stuck under his wobbly desk. I helped him out of the predicament carefully as his pudgy frame wiggled out. While this was going on I knew he needed to be punished for something I tell him not to do every class. So I put his desk against the wall and told him he had lost his desk privileges for the ten remaining minutes of class. He nodded and then struggled to hold his books and pencil case on his lap as he followed along with the class.

I felt like an asshole to be honest but I could see no other disciplinary tact to teach little Doe-Yoo a lesson. So for the days I'm desk-warming at the school I'll be filling the legs of Doe-Yoo's desk with lead..