We’re a Laugh Track Away from a Sit-Com

Truly.  There are many times throughout the week that I look around for the camera. And it’s not just the students.  My colleagues…and the situations we get into feel like we’re living a scripted life.

How about a ‘for example’?

A few days ago, I was working with a student in the library and I happened to lean on the rolly-keyboard-tray-thing (technical term, I’m certain). Well… that ended with the board crashing down and the track popping out. Err..crap!   I was with some fun students who just LOVED the fact that Miss had broken the computer desk.  Ugh, 7th graders 🙂

In any case, I went to my loving I.T guy, who responded with a, “I don’t do furniture.”  Hm… so I went to an admin who is in charge of building problems.  I told him I had done something bad. After confirming that I hadn’t done anything illegal, he assured me that a broken computer desk wasn’t a big deal. Then he told me to tell the I.T guy.  So, I relayed the message. Working with two of the wittiest guys in the school, there was an amusing dialogue about what fell into the realm of which job title.  Our I.T guy was willing to move his computers off the desk if that helped 🙂 He said that the main reason was that he didn’t have any tools in order to fix anything.  I have to admit that I assumed that they came standard issue. Ultimately we all stood around as our spectacular maintence guy came and saved the day.  Though we all mentioned using duct tape a few times.  How many educators does it take to fix a computer desk?

Then there are the little things that I find while teaching.  A student could not stop giggling because he’ll looks like hell.  Of course, he couldn’t say ‘hell’ outloud so he did the h-e-double-hockey-sticks thing. I couldn’t even come up with a response. Middle schoolers are amazing. This kid is over six feet tall, but he couldn’t contain his amusement at he’ll.  Again, I say it all with a smile. The day that I stop finding the humor in this is the day I need to quit.

On that same day, I was working with a student about verb tenses. He could not figure out why “lifes” would be wrong.  I guided him through it, then started to get stumped. How to explain without giving the answer? 

“Okay, what’s the past tense of ‘life’?”

“Death?”

Afterward, I was on the bus ramp waiting for the kids to load when one comes by SCREAMING incoherently. We all start to figure out what’s wrong with her. “Oh, I was just talkin’ to my friend.” We just look at one another. What’s there to say at 5:30?  We know we’ll be back there tomorrow working on everything from reading to social skills. 

There are days when I want to look around for the camera.  Ultimately I find I have to laugh in order to keep from being frustrated or saddened. I swear we weren’t like this when I was a kid. I swears it!