On April 1st,
I walk into my freshman English class and—surprise!—the students are sitting
with their backs to me. They have turned all their desks around and face the rear
wall. They are unusually quiet. No one
snickers.
I consider
my options. (Do Not Smile, I tell myself.)
I walk to
the back of the room, far from my desk and the blackboard. (The year, 1980). I put
my papers on the desk of a student now in the “front” row.
“Morning,” I
say, in as normal a voice as I can manage. (Do Not Smile.) I pick up my
copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. “So in last night’s reading of chapter 9—."
Many, a bit hesitant (What! No response
to our Fabulous Joke!!!), open their books too. But they are 14 or 15 years
old; several cannot hold it in. First a few guffaws. Then we all break out in a
good long laugh. April Fools!
Teaching
gives us these moments that we cherish decades later.
As all
retired teachers do, I worry about the negative perception of the profession;
about the morale of those teaching today; about whether enough talented
would-be teachers will find their way into our classrooms – and stay.
They need to
know: this can be fun. Even joyful.
I once asked
a veteran teacher why he kept at it. He smiled. “What other job,” he said, “can
give you two good laughs a day?”
**
I am teaching
middle school students and find too many write a lot as one word. So I
create “A romantic comedy, in one act.” I ask a boy and a girl to take the two
parts. I may have embarrassed one or two. I recall more than one red-faced
student up in front of the class, trying to portray the heartbreak in my
“touching” script. I hope they knew it was all in good fun.
LOT – What
are you saying? You want to break up with me?
A - I have
to, don’t you see? I’m too dependent on you! I need to stand on my own!
LOT – How
can you speak to me like this? We’re one! We belong to each other!
A – I can’t
breathe in this relationship! I’ve got to get out, I’ve got to get away!
LOT - But we
look so great together! Everybody says we’re a perfect match!
A – Maybe
they do, but the dictionary says no. This misspelling simply cannot go on! In
the future, I will see you from a distance … one space away! BYE!
As teachers,
we are not proud: anything to eliminate spelling errors!
**
Then there
was Valentine’s Day. Before classes start I find four of the more confident 8th
grade boys to come in and practice reading a stanza each … from Robert Burns’ My
Luv is Like a Red Red Rose. I offer my own awful attempt at a Scottish
brogue, my loooove is like a red red roooose, and ask them to do
likewise.
Later in the
day, near the end of their class, I have the boys come up and give their
reading. The hams among them exaggerate beautifully—Till aaaa’ the
seas gang dddrrry, my der. At times the boys are laughing too hard to finish their stanza. But the words are
almost too perfect to kill the sentiment. Their bonnie lasses, the girls in the
class, are smiling. Maybe some feel sorry for these poor guys, forced to declare
their undying loooove.
I’m not
sorry. We had fun.
**
Moments of
good humor in the classroom can lift our spirits. Students’ smiles and laughter
can make our day.
Future
teachers, the challenges are real. But it’s true, as well, that we teach for
the fun of it.
