It’s first period and I’m teaching high schoolers. The end of class is near and I’m starting to worry ifย each small group is going to get a chance to present what they’ve been working on.
There’s a commotion in the hallway. An entire class of middle schoolers, many of whom I teach on a different day, are waiting along with their teacher to get into my classroom.
I am annoyed.
I peek out and ask what’s going on. I’m told that they need to use my large room just for a moment to make a brief announcement.
I get huffy.
What!? Are you serious!? No one told me. I didn’t plan for this. How will I wrap up the class with 10 minutes less than should have? Aaaaaagh!
This is what I’m thinking in my head, and I’m afraid some of it shows as I mutter, “OK then. C’mon in,” and usher everyone in in a sarcastic flourish.
The interlopers fill the room, and the reason for their gathering soon becomes apparent. The high schoolers and middle schoolers want to honor…
ME.
One student hands me a tiara. A small speech is made by my fellow teacher, formerly known as Interrupter. Students form a line to one-by-one press their small notes of thanks into my palm. A young lady is chosen to read a poem that extolls my traits.
Huffiness was not among those listed.
I manage not to cry, and we all get a good laugh at how poorly I hid my irritation. Once class was over I was able to read through the notes and savor the poem. I was deeply touched by the kindness of my students and colleagues.
Soon, my school day was done and I ran an errand at the grocery store. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I was still wearing my tiara.
I wore that SO much better than huffiness.
~~~~~
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17 Responses
I think you did a good job ๐ I’m not sure I would have let them in at all! Ha, what a bummer it would be to miss out on something so sweet.
Ah yes, I can identify with the “huffy” part and the large serving of humble pie that came with it. How wonderful that your students appreciate “all” of you. LOL I love that you wore the tiara…
I love the tiara! And the fact that you wore it (albeit because of having forgotten to remove it) for the rest of the day is spectacular!
I bet those notes and messages were so uplifting. What a wonderful show of gratitude and appreciation!
That is so awesome — the honour, not the huffiness ๐
This made me smile. I hope this day, the tiara and notes part, remain with you for a long time.
Wow, what a genuine kind thing to do! How lovely!
Awesome! And I’m so glad you kept the tiara on!
That’s so incredible! Funny how great things can follow that moment of annoyance. Hahaha!
Awwww. So sweet!
Awww!! That’s wonderful! ๐
That is such a nice story. You must be really great to have earned such a nice gesture!
Congratulations! What an amazing surprise. I love that you forgot that your tiara was on later… and that the interruption was a celebration of you. I get huffy too when my time is interrupted at school, because as you said, lessons are planned so carefully and losing time means losing some meaningful piece or closure or deeper understanding somewhere along the way. I’m glad that you could laugh about the irritation, and so happy that you had such a beautiful moment, early in the morning in school. It is so nice to feel appreciated by colleagues and students, I hope you can ride that high for a long, long time!
We should all go to the grocery store wearing tiaras! How lovely to be honoured in that way.
I always get huffy when I’m interrupted, don’t worry about it, that’s why my friends call me Zsa Zsa Buddhist. You are now crowned Princess her Holy Huffiness. Seriously though, teachers like you are the reason why some kids even go to school.
I love this post. And of course they wanted to honor you, you’re pretty amazing.
Love that you still had your tiara on while running errands.
That’s so sweet! The initial huffiness probably just made the surprise funnier for the students. ๐
Great you ended up wearing the tiara all day too!
Love this! Getting caught up on everyone’s blogs. Mind if I run this next week to remind people to appreciate their teachers?!!