my ducklings

On Field Trip #1.

oh dear

Based on how I feel right now, I think I'm dying.

I woke up with a sore throat. Thank god its a half day.

19 out of 21 families came last night!

Which means I just went to target and bought 19 prizes as per my promise/bribe.

Sweet child, one of my girls raised her hand and asked me, "Ms. Haley, what about the prid-es that you said we would get? My mama came."

Ms. Haley is not above bribing naive five-year-olds.

I can't wait for december

and then there were 21

Some say that in order to be a good teacher you must love all of your students. Others argue that love gets in the way. They say that what you really need is deep respect and a driving passion. I believe you need both. You need to love them to get out of bed at 5am. You need to respect them to patiently ask them FOR THE FOUR HUNDREDTH TIME to zip their lips in the hallway.

What separates teaching from everything but parenting is that you must love them deeply enough that you only want things for them, and nothing from them.

Today a social worker asked me if my baby, my boy who shares my birthday, my special helper, my sunshine every morning, my Aaron, had any personal belongings in my room. I paused as I processed. I lied and said yes. Then, I took him upstairs and told him to take any book that he wanted from my library. He chose Clifford's Tricks. Even though he can't read, it made sense. I smiled. I wrote him a note in it, with love. I told him in a whisper that he was the most special boy I had ever met, because I know that no one has ever said that to him before. Because I know that most teachers will label him a behavior problem and forget to drive him toward success. Because I knew why he was leaving. I told him that he was smart and strong. And his eyes began to water.

I never called his aunt to tell her when he misbehaved because I knew the situation was precarious, and now I wish that I had called her more to tell her what a special boy she had the opportunity of caring for.

Why are adults so insensitive to the most sensitive beings on earth?

Parent-teacher conference day!