Today, however, there was a little glitch. We had just settled into our little space (a closet, really) and were almost through the oh-so-exciting directions when the principal came over the PA. Through the concrete walls of our test-taking digs she sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown..."Wha, waa, wa, wa, wa, whaaa..." Actually, she was instructing us to take our CSAP books back to the classroom teacher to be signed back in, as we might have to evacuate the building. What? Not to worry, there was not an escaped prisoner or creepy convict lurking on the premises~just a sewer problem. Bubbling toilets and icky smells.
We hoofed it over to the classroom, checked in our book, and headed our separate ways. I wandered to the front office which bustling with staff and a few parents who happened to be in the building and got wind of the excitement. Our awesome custodial engineer was busily cleaning up the water that had over-taken the Kindergarten rooms (as well as poor Mr. D's office), and the district 'guys' were trying to determine whether or not we were going to need to evacuate. I'm sure some were hoping we would need to leave (not me, of course), but the front office angels were not among them. It is not easy to make over 400 phone calls to parents an hour after school begins. Ugh...
About 20 minutes went by and we were instructed to resume testing. Here is where I thought things would get interesting. Pass out a test to a bunch of kids who are less than excited about the prospect of spending an hour filling in little bubbles, then take it away...then give it back. You might expect all hell to break loose. Nope. It didn't happen. The kids were awesome! Really!
As I walked back to pick up my testing buddy I overheard some 6th grade boys talking about exploding toilets and flying bodily fluids...gross (but funny)! They were happy as could be. No complaints. No bad attitudes. No moaning and groaning. Kids are so resilient. You gotta love that!
It's moments like these that remind me of how much I love my job. The little things that kids say or do that make me laugh out loud!
A day like today, complete with high-stakes testing and overflowing toilets, has the potential to be stressful and less-than-great. But with kids like the kids at Renaissance, it was better than great.
I love teaching...almost as much as wine (Robert Mondavi, Petite Sirah Lodi, 2008)
~Cab Lover
