But he called ME stupid

A lot of funny things have happened to me during my 3 years of teaching. Probably the all time funniest happened last week.

I have a little boy named Peter who is full of energy. He is the typical "boy". Very hands on and physical.

On the way to lunch 5 boys (Peter included) got in trouble. I had to leave them in front of our school office by themselves while I ran in to get something. I came out to find one of my sweethearts, Kaleo, hunched over crying hysterically. One of the other boys told me that Peter had punched him in the stomach. Peter instantly started crying but managed to muffle out, "But he called me stupid!" I explained how we don't hit when others call us names and that he would have to go talk to the principal. Oh man, he went crazy, crying up a storm... He cryed for the next 5 minutes and kept saying, "But he called me stupid!" over and over. Finally in my sternest voice I leaned over so my face was right in front of his and said, "Peter, it doesn't matter that he called you stupid. Is he in trouble right now? No. You are. Because you hit him." He looked me in the eye and in a clear and frustrated voice he said, "BUT TEACHER, he called you stupid!"

My natural instinct was to hug him, thank him, and ask him why he didn't clock the little punk in the kisser. But I fought the temptation, mustered up my dignity and said, "Peter, it doesn't matter WHAT he called me, you can't hit people."

Funny huh? Yeah, kind of.
Jeni