Yesterday was may LAST WORKDAY OF 2013! Woo-hoo!!
Before you get all whiney and “That’s not fair” on me, may I remind you that I am a teacher. I spend all day with your kids-you know, the child that you love so dearly and can be such an angel, but at times is a holy terror? Combine a roomful of kids that are either in angel or terror mode, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. That is my “office”. No sitting down, a new immediate need every 15 minutes, lice, throw-up, birthdays, parents fighting at home, and recess duty are why teacher moms go home exhausted every day.
I’m not complaining. I love what I do. It’s why I stay after 3 days a week with a third grader who can’t read. It’s why I cried in front of my class when my foster student was taken from her home by CPS. It’s why I spend every day away from my own children. I spend 1 1/2 hours before and after school just making sure that every day is a chance for my students to learn and grow, both on the inside and on the outside.
Teaching has its ups and downs. This year I began as a preschool teacher in a kinder-readiness class on campus and then was placed in a second and third grade combo class. I have seen some weird stuff this year.
-A little 5-year-old preschool boy peed on the cafeteria wall. I’m still not sure why he didn’t use the restroom.
-Some of the lamest jokes you can imagine. What am I saying? You know your kids and what fabulous comedians they can be. Here’s a gem I heard this week: Why did the chicken cross the road? Because the hot thing hit it and all the eggs came out. Uh-huh. Hilarity.
-Another preschooler mooned all of the fourth graders at the lunch tables.
-A student became ill on our field trip bus ride back to campus. Let’s just say she was having digestive upset, and what came out wasn’t throw-up.
-So far, my class has lost 6 teeth. I am a total weenie when it comes to blood, and losing teeth gives me the heebie-jeebies.
-One of my third graders swears like a sailor. I am having to daily reprimand him for his potty mouth and field questions from the class about “What does that mean?”.
-I have a ‘secret’ nose-picker. He puts his hand in front of his nose and picks behind it. Like we all don’t know what he’s doing.
And that’s 2013. I plan to get plenty of rest because heavens knows what awaits me in the coming months!