Michigan J. Frog Syndrome

Do you remember the Looney Tunes cartoon that featured the singing frog? Click here for video. He would don a top hat and a cane and sing "Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal..." He would only perform in front of one person and whenever that guy wanted the frog to perform in front of others, the frog would just sit there and say "ribbit." The frog's name was Michigan J.Frog and he also became a spokesfrog for the now defunct WB Network. I mention this because I sometimes see the Michigan J. Frog syndrome whenever I do observations in classrooms. Today I was observing a new first grader who has displayed many immature behaviors. He seems overly sensitive to when the teacher corrects him. He is very clingy with the classroom aide, even sitting on her lap at some point. He seems fragile both physically and emotionally. I went in to see if I could observe some of the reported behaviors. What I ended up observing was a very appropriate and attentive child. He followed directions, sat attentively, and even answered a question directly. The class was reviewing the letter "v" and offering words that started with that letter. The student raised his hand and answered, "Victory". The teacher looked at the incredulously as if the to say, "I can't believe he actually came up with the right answer. Needless to say, I didn't seen any notable behaviors. He was the perfect student. Classic Michigan J.

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