Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions
of students and parents.
- What is Mr. Grubb's deal?
- Didn't there used to be a Mrs. Grubb who taught 5th grade?
- If I bribe Mr. Grubb with candy, will he give my child preferential treatment?
- How do I spell the contraction dose'nt?
- My child was up until 2:35 am doing homework. Is that normal?
- Is it okay if I help my child with his or her homework?
- I hear that Mr. Grubb likes to play basketball at recess. Will he go easy on my child?
- What are the officially approved snacks?
- Was Mr. Grubb's third grade teacher really as scary as he claims?
- What in the world is the Mummy Shower Game?
- How can I check my child's grades in between official reports?
What is Mr. Grubb's deal?
Mr. Grubb spent a lot of time alone as a child. Therefore, he
has a very active imagination. The question is: how do we de-
activate it?
Didn't there used to be a Mrs. Grubb who taught 5th grade?
Don't bring it up; I'm still bitter. She has gone on to teach
American History at Walsh Middle School. My place is
here, though, at Great Oaks with your kiddos. And I still get to
see Mrs. Grubb at the house.
If I bribe Mr. Grubb with candy, will he give my child preferential treatment?
Absolutely not. You are welcome to try though.
How do I spell the contraction dose'nt?
Not like that.
My child was up until 2:35 am doing homework. Is that normal?
Unless your child owes me gobs of work or has procrastinated on
some project, he or she should have no more than 45 minutes worth
of homework per evening (including the obligatory 20 minutes of
reading). If it exceeds that, please let me know so that I can
adjust what I am assigning. Also, if ever your child genuinely
doesn't have enough time to complete an assignment because of an
unusually heavy schedule, I will accept a note from you saying
so. :-)>
Is it okay if I help my child with his or her homework?
Thank you for asking. Yes, we encourage parental involvement.
What we discourage is a parent doing the homework or project
INSTEAD of the child, because the person who works is the person
who learns. We also discourage parents (or anybody)
spoonfeeding the kids. Instead of giving a student
answers, a helper should ask them the kind of leading questions
that will lead the student to discover the answer for themselves.
I hear that Mr. Grubb likes to play basketball at recess. Will he go easy on my child?
I have yet to hear one child say, "Hey, Mr. Grubb is a 53-year-
old trying to play full court in the heat; let's go easy on
him." My only advantage is that I am twice the
height of most fourth graders. Therefore, I may occasionally
send one of Junior's jump shots into the cheap
seats. The good news, however, is that I tend to choose as my
teammates those who ordinarily don't see the ball much. If that
is your child, you might have them practice catching long, high
passes at home. I like the fast break game (and it cuts down on
my running).
What are the officially approved snacks?
94% fat free popcorn
Saltine Crackers
Vanilla Wafers
Pretzels
Plain Bagel
Animal Crackers
Plain English Muffin
Cinnamon Raisin Bagel
Animal Crackers
Goldfish Grahams
Goldfish Pretzels
Graham Crackers
Cheese Crackers
Trail Mix-no nuts
Ritz Crackers
Cheddar Goldfish
Raisins
Chocolate Teddy Grahams
Cinnamon Teddy Grahams
Cheerios
Low Fat Granola Bar
Nutra Grain Bars
Fig Newtons
Those milk chocolate bunnies with the marshmallow center (not
really)
Was Mr. Grubb's third grade teacher really as scary as he claims?
As a third grader, I should have been studying fractions and
practicing handwriting. So what was I doing under my desk?
The answer was simple: Mrs. Riggs was my teacher. She was a
genius at devising creative punishment. By contrast, my wife's
third grade teacher was Mossy Meadows. So she says; I'm still
not convinced she was a real person. Miss Mossy was evidently
the perfect educator; all I learned from Mrs. Riggs was pain.
Oh sure, I needed some re-direction at that time in my life,
but was it necessary for me to copy an entire Social Studies
chapter word-for-word?
There were many other cruelties to make
us wonder whether she liked children at all. Once, when she was
mad at the entire class, she spanked us all in about seven
seconds. Our desks were arranged in a large horseshoe for just
such occasions. We sat in chairs with wooden seats and wooden
backs, withwith a big gap in between them. That made it
convenient for her to skip around the perimeter with a ruler,
bopping bottoms in rapid succession. . . no child left behind.
She was nimble for a large woman.
My neighbor- Chuck Hewlett- who had Mrs. Riggs three years before
me, swears that she was worse back then. For instance, whenever
she had to leave the class-room for a minute, she used warn the
students not to talk while she was away. Before she left, though,
she would secretly turn on a tape recorder. When she got back,
she would listen to it and punish the guilty parties. I wonder
what kind of diabolical judgment she dispensed before she
"mellowed." Could it be worse than digging her fingernails in
some poor eight-year-old's arm as she had mine (needless to say,
she made a lasting impression on me)? I know it couldn't be
worse than what she did to Jay Clark.
Jay Clark did act up a lot,
but is that why Mrs. Riggs picked on him so much, or was because
he was small enough for her to lift above her head? She used to
get so agitated at him. Whenever she hollered his first and
last name, "Jay Clark!" we knew what came next. While the rest
of us watched in horror, Jay would stiffen up, making it
impossible for him to escape before Mrs. Riggs' manly hands
seized him. If there had been any fillings in Jay's mouth,
they would have come out. How could anyone be expected to
remember multiplication facts in that kind of atmosphere?
Sadly, the boys made up a dance named after Jay (third graders
can be so sensitive). Sometimes, when he wasn't around, someone
would call out, "Do the Jay Clark," and then all present would
jerk around violently as if shaken by some invisible monster.
We all survived Mrs. Riggs class, God knows how. We had
beautiful teachers before that and beautiful teachers after that
at Wallace Elementary. To my knowledge, no child ever turned
Mrs. Riggs in for child abuse. I guess we were all afraid of
the payback!
What in the world is the Mummy Shower Game?
When I was 15 or 16 years old, I was looking for a way to
liven up my shower experience. I don't know why. I came up with
this game where I imagined the Mummy- yes, that Mummy- the
bandaged beast from the old horror flicks. He began the game on
the opposite of the globe. Whenever I sang in in the shower, the
Mummy would begin his approach towards me with with evil intent.
When I stopped singing, he stopped moving; when I started back
up, so did he.
Oh sure, it was fun for awhile. But after some months of
the game, I began wondering where that dude was! Perhaps he was
on a ferry crossing the Yangtzee River; maybe he was stuck in
London traffic atop a double decker bus. At any rate, I became
increasingly uneasy about singing while I showered. Have you
ever tried to rinse shampoo out of your hair with your eyes
open? I couldn't even be sure that humming was safe. So I
finally called a truce and declared with raised voice that the
game was officially over. But would the Mummy honor it?
Even now, at the age of 53, if I hear a noise while I lather
lyrically, I get a twinge of fear. What was that? Thump,
drag...thump, drag.
How can I check my child's grades in between official reports?
Your child's grades are available for you to view at any time via
the districts Home Access Center(HAC). Go to the Round Rock ISD
homepage and scroll down the "Students/Parents" menu. The direct
web page address is: accesscenter.roundrockisd.org/home%20access/