Remembering

I was a teacher before I was a stay-at-home mom, which most of you probably already know. I had my first class of 3rd graders nine years ago, and they are all about 17 years old now. Crazy! One of those little kids/now 17-year olds was just killed in a car crash this past weekend, along with his mom. It happened in the town Jason lived in (where I taught), and was caused by another young girl who likely went to school with him. In an article I read yesterday, it said that he was to have been made an Eagle Scout soon. It is all very sad. I'll be attending the visitation this afternoon.

But, I don't want to be a total downer, so I want to share one of my favorite stories from my first year of teaching...about Jason.

Jason was a bit of a stinker. A likable stinker, though. He often had difficulty getting his work done, and this particular day was no exception. Eventually, I had to move him to a desk by himself over in the corner of the room so he could focus and finish his work. But I kept my eye on him and walked past him every once in a while to incite a flurry of activity from him. On one of my passes, I noticed Jason was scribbling a note on a torn-off piece of paper on the tray under his desk-top. (Do kids seriously think teachers won't see it that way!?) I kind of laid into him a little--he'd already been moved because he wasn't getting his work done, and now he's writing notes!!?? Anyway, I asked him to hand it over. He didn't want to. Not surprising. I insisted. He hung his head and relented.

I crumpled it up (to emphasize my frustration) and stuffed it in my pocket. But when I got back to my desk, I secretly took it out and smoothed it so I could read it. (I'm guessing all teachers do this. It was one of my secret delights...seeing the "secret" thoughts the kids never imagined the teacher would find out) And this is what I read... "You eat shite for breachfest!"

It took me a moment to decipher due to the poor 3rd grade handwriting and bad spelling, but I got the idea. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Hilarious!! That was the best note I've ever confiscated.