Shaddup Already!





















2004-12-14

A Fairly Decent Day

I had a pretty decent day today considering that it's a few days before winter break and the children have lost their frickin' minds.

This morning someone told me I look good in a turtleneck.

We have been reading a story about prisoners who train guide dogs for the blind. I have been making a point of telling the kids that these are people who have made extremely bad choices and, while we don't respect the crimes they committed, as humans they deserve respect. Today, while this one class was talking about how bad these people were, I kept focusing on this work they do with the dogs and how good it is. I also wanted them to refer to them as "puppyraisers" in their notes to them, rather than inmates. I said this was a way to show that we resepect them as people and really appreciate the hard work they do. So one student raises her hand amidst a sea of "they're gonna come kill us" and says, "I just wanted to say that I really admire the way you are able to look past the bad choices these people made and give them a second chance." That just struck me as really nice.

Then someone from my worst class period said she didn't want to leave me. I told her she had to and she said she really liked my class because I laugh a lot. I really don't laugh as much in that class, but I'm glad she thinks I laugh a lot because that is one way I would like to be seen as a person--one who can laugh.

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As you might have gathered from above, my classes are writing a letter to Puppies Behind Bars, the organization we read about. It has been an interesting experience for me because the kids are such drama queens and kings. So, let me share a day in the life of TeacherLady (TL) with you. I will use the abbreviation SP for StudentPerson.


SP: You're not really going to send this are you?
TL: Of course I am.
SP: You're not going to put your name on it are you?
TL: I'm not afraid that these people will break out of prison and come hunt me down and kill me, honestly, it isn't a threat.
SP: But you're not going to put an address on are you?
TL: Yes, I'm going to put a return address on it.
SP: But then they can find out who you are.
TL: I don't care if they know who I am. Why would they care enough about me to come to FL all the way from NY just to hurt me? That's ridiculous. They don't even know who I am.
SP: But they're criminals!
TL: Yeah, and they're IN PRISON! IN NEW YORK!

I love my job.

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