Loving Trouble

Are teachers supposed to be happy about a student being suspended? Cause I am!!
Here is the deal....I have a student who walks the line of acceptable. He frequently falls on the wrong side of the line. Not typical "kid making mistakes" kind of falling. Its a "let me see what I can get by with this time" kind of step on the wrong side....ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. And his grandmother who is raising him sees him as angelic. I've "labeled" him. All the students are making up things to get him in trouble. She believes every lie he tells to get out of trouble!!

For weeks, months, perhaps the whole year, the students have told me that this kid cusses and calls me horrible names behind my back. Having multiple witnesses and multiple offenses was never enough for Grandma to believe it was actually happening. So I learned to ignore it and told the students to just tell him to be quiet and ignore him.

Today he made a nasty comment when he was supposed to be sitting quietly. When I asked him to keep his negative comments to himself he replied loudly with "WHATEVER!" and then as I began to turn around he mumbled "B-----" under his breath. I almost danced and shouted with glee!! CAUGHT!!! Red-handed, no getting out of this one, I was a witness!!! I promptly wrote a referral and nearly skipped down the hall in joy!

Is it bad to be happy that I caught a kid calling me a cuss word?