Down the Drain...

It has been a tragic day!

Yesterday I thought I should go to the restroom before class started (which I never do).

As I stood up I heard a PLUNK.  

I knew exactly what happened -- My phone was now sitting at the bottom of the toilet and I needed to fish it out.
I reached into the toilet to now have my hand and phone lodged into the small whole at the bottom of the toilet.  Needless to say I was not saying nice words and I am sure the staff member who came into the washroom at the time was wondering what was going on in my stall.

Eventually I was able to free myself from the toilet and luckily the Life Skills teacher was the first person I saw when I came out of the washroom.  She kindly found me some rice which I managed to get my phone into.

My phone now lies in a bed of rice as I patiently wait to see if it works.  

I use my phone for many things and it was not until today that I realized how important it was too me.  I feel lost without it and as I heard other people phones chime or ring today I felt myself looking for my own.

My students all had fun with this today.  Several looked and wondered why I had a bowl of rice on my desk.  Others gave me suggestions on how to fix it but the best was watching their faces when I told them where it fell  and the adventure I went through to get it.    Many smiled and laughed while others looked at me to get the okay to laugh.

Despite the jokes I really hope to find my phone in the morning in good working condition.

If there is one lesson to be learned from this: 

NEVER PUT YOUR PHONE IN YOUR BACK POCKET! 

Mockery is the Sincerest form of Flattery!

I have stated several times about how much I love my job, it is the students who make teaching the best job on Earth and when I find my students pretending to be me it makes me smile.


Today I was running a few minutes late as I was talking to a fellow colleague about an important situation.  It was during this time that my current grade 8 class had a "substitute teacher' (aka student who wanted to be Mrs Bumstead).  Apparently he was very funny because as I arrived to the classroom the students were all rolling on the floor in laughter.


Boy times have changed I do not remember ever trying to imitate my teachers as I was often so scared of what they would think.  I love that my students are comfortable with me that we can joke around.   The students told me that I arrived too late to class because I missed the best part.  I responded  by saying: "Why did you not take out an i-pad to record the performance"  
Another student responds "I would have but the sign out process for iPads takes too long and I would have missed it anyway."   How can you not love that?

At Christmas time our school puts together a dance competition where each class creates a dance with a specific theme.  It was during that time that a very funny skit was created with what Mr and Mrs Bumstead did on their honeymoon.  I think I laughed so much that I was crying.  Believe it or not I love it when students can make fun.   Just recently I had a student also perform a skit about the particle theory where she pretended to be me with pencils in her hair and teaching other important concepts.

I was flattered this week when a colleague came to me to say that during a class discussion, students were asked what their dream teacher would be.  A student told her that she already had one... it was Mrs Bumstead.  This past week it has been a rough one losing my grandmother and recovering from a nasty cold.  I was feeling tired and under the weather but my students were there to bring that smile back.
Thanks for making me laugh guys-- you are all really great kids!