Mean Girls

I can't stand mean girls.

They're part of middle school life, unfortunately, and have been even way back in the dark ages when I was in middle school. And I'm sure that one reason I can't stand mean girls is because, way back when, I was often one of their targets. (It sucks being smart, pudgy and having glasses when you're in middle school).

In any case, my Fifth Period From The Depths of Hell Itself, has a mean girl who just nearly drives me over the bend. I have have tried to be nice to her, I've gone to cheerleading events to cheer her (and the others) on, I've praised her for the few times she actually does something correct, and counseled her on how she needs to work on her behavior and academics. It has, quite honestly, gone in one ear and out the other (perhaps because there's not much in the way to stop it from flying through). She's still mean, she's still a brat, and I'm so sick and tired of seeing the back of her head and her long ponytail (I won't tell you what it looks like but it has to do with a horse) because she Can't Shut Up and has to turn around and talk to everyone around her.

Today, one of the girls in her lab group cornered me before class and said she wanted me to have a meeting with her dad to discuss all that's going on in class. Considering that this is the Fifth Period From The Depths of Hell Itself, I could only imagine what she meant, but since she's one of the few good kids who spend most of the time looking like deer in the headlights while the rest of the nutballs lose their minds, I asked her to be a bit specific. Was she upset about the boys in there? The noise level? The fact that I have to write so many of them up for behavior which interfers with teaching time? What?

She was upset because Mean Girl was picking on her and being mean. After giving her a little bit of a lecture on, "how can I stop a problem if you won't even tell me about it?" (and for goodness' sake, with this crew, I'm lucky to keep them from setting the room on fire, let alone worry about namecalling), I decided this was a good chance to do some more seating changes.

I casually did a few seating changes, including Mean Girl, and was taking roll when Mean Girl and the Quiet One she was picking on started yelling at each other, the gist of it being that Mean Girl was mad that the Quiet One had tattled and now Mean Girl was getting moved and it was All Quiet Girl's Fault! (Never mind that the reason Mean Girl got moved has everything to do with her rotten behavior.) I trotted the two of them out to the hallway, and told the rest of my critters to sit tight and keep writing in their journals. I then proceeded to run Mean Girl up one side of the flagpole and down and made her salute it. I was furious with her and told them both I was doing a confrontation contract between them and if they so much as blinked at each other I'd have them both in from of Mr. Enforcer so fast that even Mean Girl's head wouldn't be able to spin fast enough. I also informed Mean Girl that she had hit the limit - she was out of behavior notes and if I so much as saw the back of her head, her out of her seat, or acting out, she'd be explaining her behavior for Mr. Enforcer.

And then I moved her next to Poop Boy.