In Honor of Miss B: A First Day of School Tale

In honor of the first day of school, here is the story of Miss B. I saw this unfolding on Twitter about a year ago and I’ve been saving it for just the right occasion. Miss B posted the following statement and it captured the imagination of fellow teachers and many, many others.

I’m sharing the thread in its entirety today in honor of teachers everywhere who find ways to solve problems and cope with the realities of day-to-day classroom life with creativity and a special kind of brilliance. 

 Miss B @MissBThe3rd: Giving my classroom gluesticks human names has been revolutionary. Does a student care if a glue stick goes missing? No! Do they care if DEREK the glue stick has not been returned? ABSOLUTELY. It's like a manhunt until Derek has been returned to his rightful spot. Haven't lost a glue stick since I labelled them all with names. Year 11 thought it was weird at first but now are totally invested in them. Year 7 think it's hilarious. It is win win.

What do you do when one runs out? Funeral? Or do you quietly replace it with a new one like my parents did to my brothers hamster?

Miss B: I let the student ceremoniously launch it in the bin while the class watch to see if they make the shot.

Keep the lids though; like the organ donor list, the spare lids can keep a future glue stick alive, should the lid go missing.

Does this mean certain glue sticks have hearts on their ID cards and others don't? 

No, it's an automatic opt-in system now, all glue sticks get to be donors eventually. None have objected so far.

Did you let them come up with the names or did you give them names before classes began??? I'm eternally curious

Miss B: I named them after family and friends so they all have a back story and a meaning to me Derek is my father in law and I tell them they can't lose him as he's got to be at my wedding! @Henkel* please can you see the potential of bringing out named gluesticks and pay me royalties so I can afford to get married because that thing is very EXPENSIVE.

We did this with walkie talkies at work (bearing in mind we're all fully grown adults) and when I accidentally took one (Clifford) home with me, I felt so bad that I created a collage of evidence of me taking care of him and our adventures together on my way to return him. 

Clifford:

I've done this the last couple of years. I love it. 'Betty's hat is missing, please find it.' 'Clinton has been left on the floor!' Who does Beryl belong to?’

I drew smiley faces on the lids; I say "there's an unhappy glue stick" and suddenly 30 children rush to find the lid! 4 weeks in and no lost lids!

Brilliant!

Have you let the parents know? Because now I'm imagining the reaction when a kid goes home and says "we lost Derek for a while today...”

I numbered the toy cars 1-10. My year 1s had sticky fingers so wanted to make sure at the end of tidy up time that we had all 10. It's been great for maths. They’ll count them and then if one's missing they work out which number then hunt tor it!

My year 11's fight over who is naming new glue sticks.

THIS is GENIUS!

I wish I'd thought of this during the 25 years that I was Ms. B, 4th Grade Teacher. It would've made life SO much easier. I'm sending this Tweet to my niece...

I do this, too! I'm now on my second cycle of glue sticks and the next step to ensuring they'll be fiercely protected is I now let the students choose the names for each new one. (Side note: Betsy is the only OG glue stick left and the students treat her like a queen!)

I tell them to imagine glue sticks as a chilly lil guy. Gotta have his hat on, and he only has a little tiny bit of hair because if he's got long hair his hat won't fit.

Works well for returning their lids too. My year 2s spring into action when I tell them that 'Ethel has lost her hat and it must be found.’

This is genius...now how do we name all the crayons and pencils?

OK - I'm 70, taught for 32 years and have worked in education policy for 15 years. This is the best Continuing Professional Development I have seen.

I applied the same concept for my sourdough starter and Brenda is alive to this day! She was born on 25 January 2023. I'm leaving for a holiday so she's currently hibernating in our freezer. I remember telling my partner if I gave it a name, I'll keep it alive!

Brenda:

Wow, this same lesson can be used in high school as an example of humanizing vs. dehumanizing. When we feel a human connection, we are more likely to care. Sad, but true.

Remember, this entire conversation started here:

I checked back to see how Miss B is doing these days. She’s still planning that (very expensive!) wedding. Her Twitter bio reads:

@MissBThe3rd

English teacher in their 3rd year. Mother of cats, lover of food. Wrote a viral tweet about glue sticks once. All views my own!

I hope that everyone has a good first day back today. And, if your child comes home saying, “We lost Derek for a while today…” it may not be as bad as it sounds. 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

*Henkel is the manufacturer of Pritt Glue Sticks.