I taught in a year-round school so we started in the middle of July. As you might expect the temperature was in the upper 90s for a lot of the first month of school. We had a protocol for students that may get hot. Step one was to give them water from the drinking fountain and step two was to sit against the wall in the shade. I had about 25 first and second graders and they loved to run and play. They would come in exhausted and it took a while to calm down, cool down, and drink a lot of water before we began the next lesson. All of these things were well planned and carried out to perfection on most days.
About a week into the year in late July all of that changed. Our plans were foolproof and were a smooth operation. However, if you have ever met a six-year-old, they just scoff at your plans and implement their own. About halfway through recess on a particularly hot day the phone rang in my classroom. I answered the phone to find one of the paraprofessionals in a panic. She said that we have a problem with Amanda and that could I come and pick her up. I was starting to realize that the paraprofessionals also had never had a man in the primary grades. I was required to ask the next question but I really didn’t want to ask. I sheepishly asked, “why?” She then proceeded to explain that she did what she does when she is at home. Again, I don’t want to ask but I go ahead and ask, “what does she do?” I had a feeling what was coming but I waited anyway. “She took all of her clothes off and is running around the playground.” It was at this time that I came to my senses and asked, “how would a 30 year old man picking up a naked child from recess and redressing her, not end up on the 5 o’clock news?” Brenda then realized the new challenges to having a man in primary and I agreed to come out and watch the others while she dressed Amanda.
The good news is that this was resolved to everybody’s satisfaction but stay tuned to this blog because we are not done with Amanda. You will see her resurface over the next few weeks.