conversations.

I was a substitute teacher today, and instead of doing the lesson plan, spent the majority of the period giving a lecture on good manners.  After much hemming and hawing, I managed to boil all manners down to this key thought: If you wouldn’t do it in front of your mom, don’t do it in my classroom.  The students seemed to understand this pretty well; when I pointed out the things they shouldn’t be doing (interrupting, calling people names, talking over other people, swearing…), they were horrified at my implication that they would ever do any of those around their house.  I explained that habits from one area of life often sneak into other areas, and it’s best just to do the right thing all the time.  Because otherwise, you’re just asking for a beating.  They all said, “Yes, ma’am,” which made me feel successful.  Old, but successful.

Shortly thereafter, during a passing period, a student walking by the door indignantly said to a friend, “First of all, do you have a uterus?!”

And it’s all in a day’s work.