The Taylor Westphal Standoff (3rd grade)

From The Extended Group

This page refers to the Taylor Westphal standoff that occured in Mr. Tebelmans 3rd grade class at Echo Lake elementary. For the real-life standoff in which a criminal broke into Westphals house and had a several hour standoff with the police, please see The Taylor Westphal Standoff (8th grade)

The Incident

Occured in Mr. Tebelmans 3rd grade classroom and stood out in history for the sheer ridiculousness of the incident. One afternoon after lunch, the teacher called the class together so they might discuss aspects of a group project that had been assigned for them to do overnight. When the teacher called on Taylor Westphals group to say what they had done overnight, he was met only with silence from their chosen spokesman, Taylor Westphal. It was quickly obvious that he had not done their part of the assignment, but would not admit to it. Despite the whispered urgings of other nearby students, Westphal remained steadfast in his commitment not to speak. Seconds dragged into minutes as Tebelman folded his arms and sighed loudly, all the while maintaining a cold stare back at Westphal. A surreal mood overtook the room as silence closed in and students began fidgeting out of boredom. A full 15 minutes passed in complete silence as the test of wills continued. It was around this point that the recess bell rang signalling it was time for afternoon recess. Students began getting up to go out to recess but were cut down by a sharp yell of "no one is going anywhere!" by the teacher. There was a slight mumbling as students sat back down into their seats, but soon silence again filled the room. It was during this period in which Tebelman paced over to the wall and turned off the lights, and again returned to his stool to continue staring. Most students began putting their heads down to rest. The mood was slightly annoyed, but it was mixed with just a little excitement: how long would this standoff last? The second recess bell rang, indicating the standoff was moving into 30 minutes, and still no sign of resolution. It was not for another 10 or 15 minutes that Westphal finally began quietly sobbing, effectively ending the confrontation after 40-45 minutes. Class simply resumed as though nothing had happened, but that 40-45 minute awkward pause will live on in infamy.