S is for Smart Aleck

Every week we get a progress report home from William's 2nd grade teacher.  It's nice - a quick snapshot on how he's doing with behavior, homework assignments and classroom work.  So far this year, he has received all E's for Excellent in all areas.  Yesterday, however, he had an S (for Satisfactory) in behavior.  In the comment section she had written a note explaining what had happened. 

Last week his regular teacher was gone for four days so they had a substitute.  Apparently on Tuesday William walked into the classroom, saw the substitute and said, "Oh, it's you again."  The substitute teacher talked to him and resolved the issue.  I wasn't happy, however, because I expect my kids to be well-behaved and respectful.  When I asked William about the incident, he swore up and down that he hadn't said it. 

The dilemma - it sounds exactly like something that William would say.  He has a quirky and often sarcastic sense of humor and I'm sure he was trying to be funny but he is still learning about when it is appropriate to manifest his cleverness.    It would be his passive/aggressive way of showing that he wasn't happy that his regular teacher was out of school for another day. When I told Jay about it after the kids were in bed he said the exact same thing -  that it totally sounds like William.  Yet William insists that it wasn't him.  No matter what I said to him, he wouldn't back down.  I ended up having a generic talk with him about showing respect to his teachers at school, even substitutes, and doing a better job of evaluating when it was appropriate to be funny. 

It's not that I don't want to believe him - I do - but I can literally picture William walking into the classroom and spouting out "Oh, it's you again" to a substitute teacher (to say he doesn't do well with transitions and changes in routine is a slight understatement).  Hopefully we'll be back to all E's from now on.  Until his teacher leaves in February to have her baby. Something tells me William won't be too happy about this development either.

Maybe S will stand for Sigh.  Or Save Me.