With quarter's end nigh, it's been sheer chaos after school. The sevens have been staying past that final bell day after day after, so help me god, day to complete missing work and finish the project they've been working on for over a week now. Given that all poetry booklets were officially due IN CLASS today and the kiddos had the weekend to polish them up, I thought it safe to schedule a dentist appointment. Um. Wrong.
One by one, they rolled into my room like I was giving away candy. As one asked me a question, another plopped himself down at a computer, another opened the closet to get out the paper supplies, another picked up a book to look for poems.
"Can I just print my poems?"
"Fine, but I have a dentist appointment today."
"Can I just make a cover?"
"Fine, but I have a dentist appointment today."
"Can I just type my table of contents?"
"Fine, but I have a dentist appointment today."
Those things all seemed manageable, but before I knew it, I had fifteen students sprawled around the room. And with it so full, they stopped asking for permission to be there and all I could whimper to my sad self was, "But I have a dentist appointment today."
Having lost control of the situation, I began to make deals with the lingerers. When one asked for a rubber band, I said I'd give her one only if she would then GET OUT. If one asked to use the phone, I replied, "Yep. Then get out." Get out. Get out. Get out. They were the only words I had left. Finally, Mr. E stopped in and asked loud enough for all to hear, "Ms. D, don't you have a dentist appointment today?"
"Yes!" I cried. "Did you all hear that? I have a DENTIST appointment today! That means I HAVE to leave and you HAVE to GET OUT!"
And would you believe one boy had the nerve to say, "Why didn't you just tell us?" He took one look at my face and packed up his things.
I made it to my dentist appointment on time, and sitting in that chair anticipating the numbing, drilling, sucking, and filling was the best part of my whole day.
4 comments:
only two more days!! Unfortunately, I can relate to the pressure the poetry books.
I might have used my students as a reason to miss my dentist appointments. There aren't many things worse than dentist appointments in my book....
Hmmmm...spending the afternoon with the sevens...I was considering going back to work full time, but this post makes me reconsider a bit. Kudos to you for giving them a good place to hang out.
but why do you have a 3 day week.
unfair, i say.
See you in two days! Word.
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