What your contract never mentions- not even in fineprint!

I type this with fingers smudged with red food coloring and white corrector stains. Yep, that is the price of being an elementary teacher- compromised beauty (or actually, the lack of it!!)
And if my typing mirrored the state of my vocal cords, then it would be s-o dis-conn-ec-ted an-d oh so hoarse.
Sheesh, there goes my hand-modeling and singing career ambitions!

I have yet to venture a look in the mirror to see the state of my face- I won't lie to you, I'm very apprehensive about this particular step.

But lets not talk about beauty issues (again, or the lack of them).

As I rushed to get to my duty down at the playground, I overheard a teacher who apparently was trying to break a fight between some kids as to who gets to be the line leader.
She was saying "So what will happen if you weren't the line leader for once? what's the big deal?"
I smiled knowingly, I would never use this argument with the kids. I know better.

But last year I didn't. As you work with kids, slowly you will discover that their brains work in a completely different manner- what to you is a solid logical argument, may not (and prolly would not) mean a thing to them. And what is total mumbo-jumbo to you, could be as logical as 1+1= 2 to them! Sometimes, it works to treat kids like adults, but sometimes this plan can go bad. You have to look at things from their perspective, which is usually nothing like yours.

I remember the first time I told one of the 1st graders "What's so important about being the line leader anyway? Is it worth all that crying?".
You shoulda seen the look she gave me. Not only were we on different pages, we weren't even in the same book!

In their little cute minds, being the line leader is huge. It may well be the highlight of their day! Something to brag about at home or to tease friends about. And you dare ask them what the big fuss is about?
If being the line leader is not worth the tears (in the case of girls) or the punches, lunges and kicks (in the case of boys), then pray tell me, what is?

Silly silly teachers, we are.

This I have learnt from trial and error and many stares from the kids that clearly read "Which planet is she from?", yet I am far from being the expert.

But I'm learning something new each day. Just now I learnt this very very valuable lesson:

"If you leave food coloring laying on the demonstration table behind the kids, you're practically begging for trouble."

They should mention these things in the teachers manuals you know.