"Name on the Board"

I have a question for all my teacher friends out there. What in the world happens when you have to write a student’s “name on the board”? I had no idea the gripping power of those 4 simple words. In our “learning” room, where we have school, we have 2 chairs from IKEA. The chairs were exactly what I wanted— right size, right colors, right price, right “look” etc.--- except one fancy feature. They spin. Yes, ’round and ’round and ’round. When I purchased them, I thought, every swivel/spin chair has the option of becoming stationary, right? Spin, spin, spin. (I have to mention the loud THUD it makes when the back of the chair is abruptly stopped by the edge of the desk!) Well, during school time, it seems this is my biggest battle with Julia. Do you know that children use about 95% of their brain power to spin a chair ’round and ’round? And the last 5% is used wondering if they are doing something wrong and how they can stop the spinning chair? Needless to say, the chairs are a HUGE distraction. (But did I mention how great they look in the room?)

Back to my question. Sometimes during our school time, I mention things to her I hear other moms and teachers say about their school and the way they do things. “Name on the board” just happened to be one of those interesting tidbits I thought I’d try on for size and boy, did it fit perfectly. Her cute lip quivers at the mention of her “name on the board”. Really—quivers. What do you teachers do when you write their names on the board? Is it written in some cryptic Gothic script with blood dripping from the letters and little beady eyes peering out from the “o’s” and “a’s”? (Can you teach me?) Does it mean their school fate is doomed to being sequestered in a tight locker somewhere down the hall and fed lunchroom toast and tap water? What about this consequence to poor behavior makes a little lip quiver?? I am curious about the secret power it commands. Since I have realized what fear this expression puts into my gal, these 4 words will be reserved only for behaviors MUCH worse than spinning in the chair—as evil as it seems at the time, I will refrain ................or get a new chair.