Etc.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
  Finally, An LC Fan Club
For the past two weeks, I've been teaching rising 4th and 5th grade students at summer school. I hesitantly accepted the job because, 1) It's summer, and I should relax, 2) It's a 25 minute drive, and I have to be there by 7am, and 3) I'd be teaching little kids, and they freak me out. All of these qualms, however, were eclipsed by an accumulation of three incidents.

Incident One.
On the second day of school, as the kiddies are finishing up their lunch and packing up their belongings to board the bus, someone's mother walks in. She introduces herself and asks how her son, Jacob, faired today. I start responding to her question, when--lo and behold--Jacob bounces up to her and excitedly pleads, "Mom, Mom! Can I please come back tomorrow?!?"*
<Oh my god, I am totally going to win Teacher of the Year this year!>

Incident Two.
On the third day of summer school, as I am sitting at my ominous teacher's desk planning some inspiring and absolutely motivational lesson plans, some of the chillens come in, hang up their bookbags, greet me with a good morning, sit in their seats, etc. Then, Kayla walks in with a smile she's trying to hide and something behind her back. She comes right up next to me and quietly sets this huge wicker basket down. I look up at her and smile, and she smiles and then sits at her desk. I lift the basket onto my lap and start rummaging through the small gifts that are inside: lotions (some half-used), wild berries, a colored, wooden elephant, one of those gummy monsters that fit onto your fingertips, a school picture of Kayla, a note spelling my last name completely wrong, and--what looks like huge leopard print slippers bound together with gynormous soles. As I pick up this particular item and examine it (because I'm not really sure what it is), Kayla shoots outta her chair and comes over to me and says, "Ms. C., that's the best foot massager in the whole world."**
<The true beginnings of a fan club! I wonder how much other shit the kids will bring me!>

Incident Three.
On the sixth day of summer school, a new student, Ester, joins our class. She walks in shyly, and I introduce myself and show her where she can put her things and sit. She is shy most of the first hour and a half of class, but starts to warm up to me during snacks and recess. She tells me she is from Africa and that one of her brothers is still there. I ask her more about this, and we chat throughout recess. At the end of the day, she is more open and smiling and goofing off with the other students. Her mom comes in during lunch to pick her up and asks me how Ester did today. Ester comes up to greet her mother and says, "I had fun today." Ester's mother acknowledges the comment and tells Ester to finish her lunch. Then, Ester's mom confides in me that Ester skipped the first week of summer school because she was afraid to go. But, now, it looks like Ester is happy as a clam, here, in my classroom. Ester's mom asks me where I'm teaching next year and wants to write a recommendation for me.***
<LC--Kid-Tested and Approved "Provider of Safety and Funness">

All of these complimentary actions have caused my ego to sling slogans through my head constantly. The best one I've come up with so far is:
LC: Makes you want to repeat the 4th and 5th grades until you are old enough to marry her.

*Jacob attended week one of summer school but failed to show up for week two.
**Kayla's tone of voice with me has risen to new levels of frustration, to the point where she rolled her eyes at me and I had to take away 5 minutes of her recess, to which she responded by not giving me a goddamn lollipop during lunch. Bitch.
***After making Ester read a boring book during Silent Reading time, she fell asleep, woke up, and proclaimed she was bored.
 

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