“Thin Line”

The other day a fifth grade student came in with a green bracelet with the words “I Love Boobies” on his wrist. The teacher asked him to remove it, he asked her why. She explained that it was inappropriate for the class and made him remove it.  The next day, he came in with it on again, she told him to remove it. He said, “My mother called the principal and he said I could wear it.” He wore it the entire day making sure he showed off his arm as often as he could.  When the teacher went to complain to the principal, he told her that because it was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it was a thin line that he would cross by asking the child not to wear it. Needless to say, the teacher was very,very upset. This parent, and the principal, not only undermined the teacher’s authority, but also gave this child, who is already insufferable, carte blanche to go to mommy and go over his teacher’s head! Wow! A thin line?  His bracelet didn’t mention Breast Cancer Awareness, it said “boobies.” He was showing it off to the boys in his class. And the parent? Her time will come when she can no longer deal with the monster she has created! They want to tie our pay to the students, when we’re not allowed to make decisions in our own classrooms? Please!

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“Goodbye Suckers!”

A colleague invited myself and a few other colleagues to brunch at her house. I thought it was such a wonderful way to begin the school year.   Arriving at her house, I was greeted with a greeting of, “I retired on Friday!” and a glass of mimosa. I wasn’t surprised, this teacher “did her time”, and was weary of all the pettiness and the micromanaging.   She was good at her job, but her sharp tongue towards administration, and sometimes the kids, would get her in trouble. She said what she had to say, consequences be damned! I will miss her political notes sent on a napkin, her brash humor, and charming wit. Gossiping, or trying to, because her hearing was going, as we passed each other in the hallway. The smell of Starbucks coffee in her room, even though no one was supposed to have a coffeemaker! I’m sure the kids will miss her ability to teach, if not her screeching at their inability to sit still and listen. Brunch was a great goodbye, seafood Quiche, and a blueberry pastry,made with fresh blueberries, and the champagne glass filled with mimosa. As I hugged her goodbye, and wished her well, she turned to the group and said, “Goodbye suckers!” She will be missed!