I covered the 6th grade teacher's classroom for an hour or so today, and my afternoon lesson plan began with reading a chapter from the book, "No Talking" by Andrew Clement. I don't know the entire story, but I really enjoyed the chapter I was reading to the class, and whenever something stumped me, the kids were quick to fill me in with some background. It really looks like a fun book, and I intend to borrow it and read it from the beginning.
From what the class told me, the 5th grade class in this story had been very talkative and had quite a reputation for not paying attention. I'm not sure how everything came about, but it sounded like a disagreement had taken place regarding who talks the most, boys or girls, and it appeared to me that some sort of challenge was issued - none of the students were allowed to speak more than three words in a row.
I picked up the story the chapter following the one in which the school principal has ordered the students to end the challenge and begin talking normally again. Most of the chapter I read to the class involved these 5th graders continuing on with the challenge of not speaking more than three words at any one time, how they managed together to do their lessons while still never uttering more than three words in a row, and how the teachers reacted. I can't tell you anymore, but it looks like the principal was about to return and find out that her orders had not been followed...
Early in my teaching days, I had two students who absolutely could not get along - nothing physical, but just constant verbal assaults. Kim and Kurt, classmates, an 8th grade girl and an 8th grade boy. I don't recall everything I did, but I do remember feeling at the time that I had done everything possible in the way of punishments, parent conferences, etc. And we had not made it to Thanksgiving yet!
The last time I recall sitting with these two students and their parents, I told them that suspension was the next step in the process...and I also mentioned that I was tired of debating "who said what and how they said it or what they 'really' meant." Therefore, Kim and Kurt were forbidden to talk to one another...at all. "You tell her 'good morning,' and you are suspended. If he holds the door for you and you say, 'thank you,' then you are suspended." No talking!
Please don't get upset with me, I was very young and inexperienced. We had covered all the many things they could not and should not say. We had gone down that road of, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." So I decided that the next step should logically be: "You can't say anything at all to each other...or else." The parents signed off on the arrangement because they, too, were tired of the bickering.
Several days after the "gag order," Kurt and Kim came to me before school. Together. They began with a confession: they had been talking to one another at school, a suspendable offense for these two. Not talking to each other 'at all' had proven too difficult. After just a few days, neither one could stand the stress, worrying that a word, even a good word, might slip out, resulting in a suspension. And so they began sneaking around talking to each other...about how to get me to reverse my decision. I often wondered but never asked who trusted the other enough to speak the first word.
You just know that the Holy Spirit was working in Kim and Kurt as they snuck around talking together, and the Spirit was at work in me, also, guiding me in my inexperience to impose this talking ban, as strange as that sounds. Asking permission to once again be allowed talk to one another, they promised that they would not speak inappropriately to each other any more. And believe it or not, it worked.
The Holy Spirit can indeed accomplish amazing things when we allow Him to work through us.