The Old Man

I was talking to my dad a while back...

MR. BOWERS: Hey, Dad, remember when I was little, you would tell me that I would get a whoopin' if I got anything less than a "C" on my report card? Why didn't you tell me I would get a whoopin' for anything less than an "A"? Think how much smarter I would have been!

MR. BOWERS' DAD: Well, then you would've been smarter than me!

You're Eating Your Shirt?

One of the Pre-K kids was walking into my drama class and his sleeve was soaked all the way to his elbow from him chewing on it all day.

I said to him, "Oh, you're eating your shirt? Hold on a minute..." Then I ran inside and grabbed the lemon pepper seasoning that I put on salads and came back out and sprinkled some on his sleeve, "...here you go"

He just looked at me with thanks in his eyes and ran into the room.

Then Coach Reid, who was standing by my door, says, "I don't know how you keep from getting fired."

Jack-O-What?

We were doing the "5 Little Pumpkins" song with the Pre-Kinder kids and the Music teacher asked, "What would you call pumpkin that has a face carved in it?" One of the Pre-K kids shouted out, "A pumpkin basket!" Another corrected him, "No, a Halloween basket!"

SLOW DOWN!

It's a sidewalk--not a siderun.


STOP CLIMBING ON THE PORCH RAILING!

If the principal sees you, he's gonna tear down the playground! He'll be like, "Saaay, the kids really love climbing on the rails...we should tear down that useless playground and build a parking lot!"

STOP SWINGING ON THE POLE!

If you wanna swing on the poles, you have to come up here on Saturday or Sunday--that is if you can get a pole, there's so many kids up here swinging on the poles on Saturday and Sunday--you should see it!


That's life out here in the trailer park.

Mom of the Year

After school today...

JESSICA (2nd grade): Mr. Bowers, my mom and dad said that they are gonna sell Lilly (kindergarten sister).
MR. BOWERS: Why's that?
JESSICA: Because she's not being good in school.

Mom walks up right on cue.

MR. BOWERS: Hey, I hear that you're gonna sell Lilly.
MOM: That's right!

Scenes From the Past

OK, so, this one's kinda sad.

With the 5th graders, I am working on emotions. First, I share with the kids an emotional experience from my childhood, and then I call for volunteers to come up and re-create the scene. It's nothing too serious, just a moment of embarrassment or something. Then, I ask for volunteers to share their stories and get kids to recreate the scene while they direct.

Oscar recalled the time when his grandpa woke up in the middle of the night coughing and ended up dying right there in front of him and his dad. I didn't want to have him use that as a scene, but he insisted. He said it happened a long time ago--even before his little sister was born. She is 5 years old now, so, at least 5 years ago.

Jones, Izar and Laura played in the scene as grandpa, dad and little Oscar. They worked so well with Oscar as the director, they really acted their parts with tenderness and seriousness--it was a beautiful scene. I encouraged Oscar to write down the scene and maybe make a play out of it.

All this before 10am. Heavy.

Perla

Perla was in 3rd grade when I started teaching. Now she is in college at Sam Houston State in Huntsville, TX.

She came back to see us and I recognized her immediately. She's making us all proud and becoming a U.S. Marshall! I hope I never see her again--unless she's coming to rescue me or something.

I'm Not Mad

I get really bothered when I am teaching something and kids won't stop talking and listen! Finally, I just had to say, "I'm not mad at the kids who are talking while I am teaching, I'm mad at the kids who are listening to those talkers instead of me! If someone tries to talk to you while I am teaching, just shake your head, no, and point to me to show them where they should be focusing."