Laughs and "The Line": A Classroom Story

So.  After a 3 day saga of being ridiculously tired, I'm glad to say that the spell (whatever it was) has been broken!  I actually made it through today without needing an ASN (after-school nap).  YEA!!!

I had a good time with my classes today.  We had some good laughs, especialy with my fourth period class...they're never short on those.  (I've mentioned them before in a post or two.)  This is one of my favorite classes...they are a hilariously nutty bunch of creative thinkers who never cease to amaze me and always keep me on my toes.  But.  They are also very needy of my attention.  Case in point:

When they come back to class from lunch everyday, I'm usually still sitting at my desk trying to scarf down the last of my own.  As soon as I turn around, there is, without fail, "The Line".  "The Line" consists of at least four kids standing literally inches behind of me, each one eagerly awaiting to give me a hug or tell/ask/show/entertain me with something.  (Actually, they are very endearing.)  I attempted once to "lay down the law" and require that when they come into class, they go straight to their seats rather than straight to my seat, but that lasted for about a week.  I even came up with a strategy once, which was to eat faster than I already do so that by the time they come back from lunch, I would meet them outside of my classroom door rather than at my desk, and thus avoid "The Line".  On the first day of doing this, it was working well as I stood outside in the hallway in "my own space".  But when the bell rang for class to begin, and I turned around to enter the classroom, "The Line" was ready and waiting for me just inside of the door!  (I was slightly taken aback, but I had to laugh.  I also gave up on that plan shortly thereafter.) 

The thing about "The Line" is that it sometimes appears in such a whirlwind that I never see it actually assemble.  It just...exists.  It does not always consist of the same students, and it does not fall into the traditional definition of a 'line'.  Rather than being straight from the first person to the last; this "Line" usually becomes more of a glob because, while one student is not paying attention to his/her place in "The Line", another one is inching in front of him/her in an attempt to get closer to me and my desk.  Or, when I'm at my podium, "The Line" forms around me, totally enveloping and trapping me from any means of escape! 

Today's goal was to conference with and assist students individually on revising their essays. Let me tell you that this is not an easy task.  Usually, my name is being called from all over the room and, while my attention is on the one student that I'm working with, slowly but surely, "The Line" begins to form.  So, after "The Line" began to form at my desk today, I enforced my "stay-in-your-seat-unless-you-are-the-person-with-whom-I-am-conferencing-but-if-you-have-a-question-just-raise-your-hand-and-wait-for-me-to-get-to-you" rule.  With that, four kids sat down and six to eight hands went up into the air.  (I laughed.) 

After getting through a couple of rounds of questions and a few more revisions, I walked across the room to a corner where I have a large storage cabinet.  My back was turned to the class while I was searching in it for printer paper.  It took less than a minute for me to turn around, and when I did, I kid you not, there was "The Line"!!!!! 

I couldn't believe it!  I mean, I guess you had to have been there because when I say that this "line" mobilized so quickly and quietly that they actually scared the crap out of me when I turned around...I mean it!  I was backed into a corner, surrounded by a "line" of four or five, with nowhere to go.  I immediately began to feel claustrophobic, but again,  I had to laugh out loud.  I realized, then and there, that regardless of whether I'm at my desk, my podium, my door, at another student's desk (yes, it happens then, too), or bent over scouring through a storage cabinet...I cannot and will not escape the mobilization and encroachment of "The Line".

So, having been backed into a corner and with nowhere to go, I climbed into the cabinet and shut the door.

Really.  I did.

 My kids aren't the only ones who can be a little nutty sometimes!  ;)

        

the pieces:

Dress - TJ Maxx (Summer '10, $17)

Cardigan - Loft (recent clearance, $17)

Ruffle Neck White Tee - Loft (recent clearance, $12)

Hot Pink Tank - The Limited Seamless Tank

Belt - Express (very old)

Shoes - Two Lips (so, so old)

p.s. I didn't actually wear the belt to school today.  The dress has an empire waist and is very full and puffy from the waist on down.  With the puffiness underneath several layers (you can tell from the first pic) and the bulkiness of the pockets on the cardigan (which you can see in the second pic), I knew that after doing a lot of moving around, the clothes would start bunching up in the middle, so...no thanks.