okay, that title? its sarcastic!
my wednesday is blah. let me explain...
as a teacher you see those students everyday who are usually squirrly, but oddly loveable all at the same time. & one day you walk in and the ornery student is sitting quietly, head on the table, eyes dazed. you're amazed & you jokingly ask the classroom teacher if she passed out valium this morning. nope...the little boy's mommy had another baby last night so his whole routine is messed up--had to stay with his aunt, breakfast was forgotten, etc...
sooo, when the class goes to the front to sit in their circle you let the little boy sit on your lap. at first he is rigid & then he relaxes & lays his head back against your neck. then he turns his face into your neck & wraps his little boy arms around you. "ah..you think to yourself. he'll be asleep in minutes." & you hope to yourself that if this were your child someone would be holding him, too. then, just as you think his eyes are shutting & you've done the right thing by showing him some extra love, his tiny, sweet little body heaves. you pull him up, thinking it was a cough. his eyes are wide & he does it again...suddenly you are in super teacher mode. 8 months pregnant you get up in record time & carry/throw the child towards the trash can. now all you can think about are the germs circulating your body...
the classroom teacher takes him to the nurse while you pretend to teach reading...
a few minutes later you exit the kindergarten...
you go back to your quiet, peaceful room where you only have two students for the next hour & a half. gentle, sweet, compliant students. but today, of course, on this dreary wednesday, today is the day one of them picks to throw a screaming, stopping, crying, mad-fit. behaviors you never dreamed this child possesses come to the surface. and so, for the next hour & 23 minutes you remind the student that she has choices...of course, she doesn't make the right choice until 3 minutes are left of class. so for 1 hour & 20 minutes you have taught around her...piling her homework in a neat little stack with instructions to home on how to complete it.
& then it's lunchtime...and you realize...heaven help me, is it only lunchtime?
4 comments:
I love it...the joys of teaching. Little darlings :)
Thank you for the Visual. I had a good chuckle thinking about the carry/throw part. Makes me laugh just typing it. Probably not nearly as funny to you as to me. I sorry your having a bad day and I hope that it gets better. Your story brightened my day though.
oh, all in good humor...its one of those moments in life when you repeat, "i teach to make a difference, i teach to make a difference."
I teach to make a difference, even if that difference is not getting throw up on the carpet!
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