Injuries
My favorite teaching assignment I’ve ever had was when I taught 8th grade social studies for a month. The teacher was out on paternity leave and I had so much fun. The kids were for the most part very respectful, and if they didn’t like me they at least tolerated me.
At the end of each day there is a 15 minute seminar/study hall where kids can finish assignments, get help with work, and prepare to go home. In my classroom there was a group of boys who were hysterical. They did trick shots on the teacher’s basketball hoop, talked about their sports teams like it was the most exciting thing in the world, and just enjoyed life. One day the boys were being silly and trying trick shots that involved jumping over chairs. I probably should have stopped them, but they were having so much fun.
One boy tried to do some sort of twirl and leap over 3 chairs and he crashed… hard. I asked if he was ok and offered to take him to the nurse. He insisted he was fine and when the bell rang he limped away. I thought nothing more of it. The next day he walked into class… on crutches. He had a sprain. I felt SO bad. It was the end of the school year so I don’t think he was missing out on any major sporting events. Basketball and football season were both over. But I still felt bad. He was such a respectful kid. (By the end of my time there he was off crutches and all was well.) But that taught me I should err on the side of caution, even if it makes me sound like a buzzkill in the classroom.
Redheaded Jill 
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