I’ve had some rough teaching days this week. The kind that make me yearn for another time that I’ve read about in story books, when the teacher could stick a kid in a corner and make them stop whatever they were doing. Or make them go outside and stay there until I am good and ready to see your smirk again. Or wear a silly hat. At least that one would make me laugh.

Maybe it was that we only had a three day week last week, due to a teacher working day and some presidents of the past. But five days this week felt like five weeks. Each day there was an exchange like this:

Me: What do you mean you did your test in red pen?

Student: Well, I wasn’t sure where my pencil was.

Me: There are 21 other students in this room who did theirs in pencil. Did you think about asking to borrow one?

Student: Well, I know you don’t like us to talk during tests.

Me: I dont….I can’t…wth?!

Student: I was absent yesterday. Did we do anything important?

Me: No, you weren’t here, so I put all my lesson plans on hold and we just sat in silence, thinking of you.

Student: Did you get my mom’s email about how my grandma is in town so I like didn’t do that study guide for the test today so can I take my test tomorrow?

Me: Um…the study guide that was assigned last week…that you had a week to do…

Student: Yeah. My grandma lives in Idaho, so, I’ll just take the test later.

Student: Miss Weight, can I not sit next to ____________ anymore? He is like SO annoying. But I think I would sit really well next to (insert cute student’s name) and I promise we wouldn’t talk at all.

 

Or its a parent emailing me asking me to hunt down their child at lunch and make them finish an assignment that I gave them half credit on because they only felt like doing half of it when they turned it in. Or a parent demanding I reinstate the points their child lost because they didn’t put their name on their paper. Or a parent saying that their son has reported that I am just on facebook all day long and never teach them anything and he is bored in my class. To which I just have to say that I teach 120 Latin students, 20 Spanish students, coach volleyball, blog, and stalk Brian Wilson. Do I seem like a person who has time to check facebook while at work? No. Thats what iphone app checks in the faculty room at lunch are for. And if your son is so bored in my class, why does he have a B-? Bored students usually have A+s. Also, your kid picks his nose and eats it and girls think he is gross, so there.

There have been sweet moments this week….but few and far between it seems. Spring fever I guess?

Whatever it is, I hope it gets cured over the weekend. I’ll be curing mine in the bottom of a girly drink tonight with my amigas. Adios, responsibility. At least until tomorrow morning, when I will use the force to stare down the stack of three hundred something assignments and make them grade themselves.