So yesterday, I got my first "because you're my teacher."
I asked a student of mine to tuck in his shirt in the hall, which is part of their uniform policy. He smiled at me and had the gall to look bashful. Then he said, in broken English (he's been in the US for a little over a year from either Bosnia or Russia), "I do it for you. Not Mrs. Blue. She ask me to tuck in but I no do that. I tuck in for you."
I stared at him for a moment and said, "Did Mrs. Blue, our principal, who can give you ISS for something like this, ask you to tuck in your shirt? Why didn't you do it?"
Sevdar shrugged and said, "She no my teacher. You my teacher. I do it for you."
I've had him all of two days! I guess he feels pretty comfortable around me now. I don't know. It just shocked me.
And I got my first poem today as well! A 6th grader named Emina wrote a poem about me which had me blushing profusely and being all bashful and whatnot. When she turns in the final copy I'll put it here. It's unbelievable! (Literally. I'm no where near what she wrote.)
And I've noticed that kids I have no clue who are are saying Hi to be in the halls now. One girl in particular starts blushing and her shoulders hunch up, and she smiles silly and says, "Hiiii Ms. Franklin...." It took me forever to figure out who she was, until I remembered that I had coerced her to get 7 hours of sleep by saying to her, "Now, I know you don't know me (I'm Ms. Franklin), and I don't know you, but you're looking awfully tired. Are you feeling okay? No? Okay, so promise me that you're going to get at the very least 7 hours of sleep tonight. In the morning, stop in my room and say, 'Hi Ms. Franklin! I'm feeling refreshed and awake today!'" She had giggled and whatnot, and never showed up. But I guess I had made quite the impression because she now says hi to me all the freaking time!
And I've noticed that they're sort of... territorial. Such as, if I'm approached by another teacher, they all tense up and crowd around me as if to show their support. For example, during the various fire drills we've had, they ran off into the enclosed area outside to talk to their friends from other classes. I didn't mind; I could see them at all times and knew where they were. Plus, someone was blocking the exits. Well, when my mentor came over to make sure I had everyone, they all materialized out of no where and stood right next to me, making sure I didn't get in trouble. It's bizzare! I love it!
About Me
- MsFranklin
- I am an oddball of a girl that is worth getting to know... or at least, so I'm told.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Smacking a gorilla"s behind
at World's of Fun, June 2, 2007
1 comment:
As I've told you many times, you are hillarious! By the way, I am absolutely positive that the students liked you from the very beginning. They just have to put you through a round of tests to make sure you're a durable teacher.
By the way, I've meaning to tell you...I don't want you to think my first year teaching experience is simply perfect. I don't talk about it for few reasons. 1) I don't consider the issues that I may have or the issues that Long has, my problems. Here comes sappy spirituality. My religion gives me the permission to allow
G-d to carry the weight of my problems. Therefore, my worrying is very minimal. Which makes it appear as though I'm happy all the time! 2) It used to help me to talk about all my issues, but for some reason that has changed. I don't mind listening to other people, but when I talk about my own issues it just seems to amplify the situation and makes me think about it more. Weird, I know, but that's how my mind works (This probably directly tied to why I can't remember what's due, when). Lastly, I'm so scared that people are going to over hear me venting that I rarely get the urge. On those days when I absolutely have to, I find you or I lock my door and call one of my girlfriends and begin the conversation with, "You will not believe ..." Other than that, there are very few people that I trust in that school or in any school for that matter. Moment of truth: many teachers are just unbearably gossipy and the fact of the matter is that you never know who you're talking to until you hear about your comment the next day.
Bottom Line: You're a great teacher and will become even greater in the years to come. I can't wait to see you in about 5 years. You're going to have the skills and instructional practices of a 10 year teacher.
Love Always,
Ash
Post a Comment