One of the best things about teaching kids is that something unexpected happens every single day. Today the most surprising situation happened during lunch: *allegedly* one of my students poured a Ziploc baggy with the ashes of someone else’s dead grandpa down a drain. Yikes. *Side note- everyone in education who directly works with kids deserves more money.* Upon receiving this news, I had some concerns.
- Who is saying they brought their grandpa’s ashes to school in a Ziploc bag? And why? Immediate trip to counselor.
- Why did my student pour them down a drain? Another counselor visit.
- Wastefulness- could this old man’s remains have been put to better use, like providing beneficial nutrients for plants? i.e…stronger and better tomatoes..?
- Concern over having concern number 3. Can teachers receive counseling from their school counselor? (Follow up on this)
My guess is that the Ziploc bag probably did not have the remains of someone’s grandpa in it. Kids are constantly spinning strange yarns across campus. However, I would like that scenario to be added to our school’s handbook of violations along with clarification as to whether it would be a major or minor infraction. I can see a strong argument for both, and we are always being reminded about the importance of entering accurate data. Also, after a bit of Googling: people ashes do not make good fertilizer. Apparently the high salt and alkaline content could actually kill plants. So while my student’s actions were highly disrespectful, upsetting, and wrong, they were not wasteful. He may have actually saved a plant depending on where this supposed bag of grandpa was supposed to end up.