the mean teacher

i am the "mean" teacher at my school. i make rules; i define consequences; and i stick to them (and even though some parents don't understand or they disagree, the same rules apply to every kid, regardless of financial status).

some of these kids have no other consistency in their lives. in my class at least, if you got in trouble for it yesterday, you'll get in trouble for it again today (and if you didn't, you won't). i'm a firm believer in setting boundaries for kids. even though i'm not a rule-follower myself (oh the sweet irony), and i did spend most of my younger years challenging/testing/pushing/ignoring the boundaries, that's the very reason i feel like they need to exist (b/c of juvenile delinquents like me...hehehe).

some of my kids love me on the first day; others take a bit longer to come around, but they all love me in the end, even when i'm tough. i am real, and i'm sarcastic, and i don't make them guess how i feel...my face says it all. they know they can laugh at me, and they know i can have fun...at the appropriate time. they respect me. i don't need 55 twelve year-olds to be my friends (i have friends my age), so i don't need them to like me, but they do anyway, and i do love/appreciate that.

there are things i'm definitely going to miss about teaching:
a kid's face when she finally understands something (the "a-ha moment");
the "oh (short pause) my (short pause) gosh! did you hear about (fill-in-the-blank)?? blah blah blah" drama that i so often make fun of (to their faces);
the fact that they think i'm hilarious (i'll never have a captive audience like that outside the classroom);
knowing there's that one student that no one else could connect with, but i was able to (usually the sarcastic one that the other teachers didn't have the patience for);
kids writing notes on my boards saying "hi" or "ms. j loves CB", or (in past years) "mrs. colin farrell".

i think i'll always be "mean"...in this day and age, they need it.