“Hey there, buddy! Did you stay on green today?” Like traffic lights, Tom’s school uses colors to indicate how the day’s discipline shook out. Green — great day, no disciplinary action. Yellow — had an okay day, but there was some monkey business. Red — well…red just isn’t good at all.
Tom tossed down his backpack and sighed. “I hit a friend today on the playground,” he confessed.
“Oh, Tommy! We don’t hit friends do we?”
“But…”
“No buts, mister,” I snapped. “We mind our teacher and keep our hands to ourself.”
He looks downcast, and I can’t help but soften the blow a little. “That’s what you can work on for tomorrow, and I know you’ll stay on green when tomorrow comes.”
“Well…I tried to have a Green Day today, mom,” he said mournfully. “But my elbow had a yellow one.”
Elbows — ruining it for the rest of Tom’s body since 2006.
ok maybe you need to explain ‘stay on green’ – is that local slang for…..something?
LOL! It’s how they discipline. If they ignore their teacher’s warnings a certain number of times then they move from green to yellow and eventually to red if they’re REALLY in trouble. Red can mean a trip to the principal (headmaster?) and certainly a nasty note home. Tommy’s elbow hit another student, so it kept the rest of him from staying on green. 😉