It's that time of year again.
Caps & gowns adorn the auditoriums around the country; teachers close up their classrooms for the summer, with both joy and sadness; kids everywhere rejoice at their (temporary) freedom; and parents wonder how the HELL they're going to cope between now and August.
My mom was a teacher. A very dedicated teacher, like I suspect teacherken, and many other Kossacks are. She didn't just stand in front of classroom and present lesson plans. She put her heart and soul into it...Everyday...And many nights & weekends as well.
A lot of people don't realize what teachers go through...What they sacrifice for their chosen vocation. I do. And so I want to take a minute today, as the school year winds down, to salute the many Kossack Teachers who work so hard to "reach" our children, and try to instill knowledge and skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives.
THANK YOU, for all that you do!
OK, that was pretty sappy, so let's lighten the mood a bit. Here's a little educator humor that I'm sure most of you (teachers) can relate to. I know my mom would be ROFLHAO!
YOU MIGHT BE (or have been) A TEACHER IF.....
1. You believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.
2. You want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work 8 to 3:20 and have summers free.
3. You can tell if it's a full moon without looking outside.
4. You believe "shallow gene pool" should have its own check box on a report card.
5. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."
6. When out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.
7. You have no social life between August and June.
8. Marking all A's on report cards would make your life SO easy.
9. You think people should be required to get a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.
10. You wonder how some parents ever MANAGED to reproduce.
11. You laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the "lounge."
12. You encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling.
13. You can't have children because there's no name you could give a child that wouldn't bring on high blood pressure the moment you heard it.
14. You think caffeine and chocolate should be available in intravenous form.
15. You know you are in for a major project when a parent says, "I have a great idea I'd like to discuss. I think it would be such fun."
16. Meeting a child's parent instantly answers the question, "Why is this kid like this?"
Have a great summer. You've earned it. And if you're retiring this year, thank you for devoting your life to our future.
Mike
[EDIT: (5/21/2006 1:39PM Central) Title Changed]