This year, however, I was not. With a class filled with 85% boys (70% of whom are just waiting to mug me later on in life), I knew that this was going to be a blue Christmas. I was not expecting anything nor was I giving out anything... Don't get me wrong. There have been years where I have doled out the gifts. Great kids deserve great gifts. This is not one of those years. I wouldn't spend money on charcoal for this group of ne'er-do-wells.Anyway, as expected, the day was going exactly how I had forseen it. No gifts, and to be totally honest, I was fine with that. Later on in the afternoon though, one of Mr. X's kids dropped by and gave me an envelope with a card in it. "For me?" I asked. She nodded yes, and I thanked her. She went on to deliver that same card (she must've bought a box of them) to every other 4th grade teacher on the wing. "That's nice," I thought to myself. She wasn't even one of my students, yet she was thoughtful enough to get a card for all of the 4th grade teachers. I didn't even know her name. She was one of the bilingual students, and by the way, if you don't know, 90% of the bilingual students are not eagerly anticipating on mugging anybody, ever.
Most of these kids have been in the US for less than a year, and they are the sweetest, most well-intentioned group of kids a teacher could ever want. Their parents are also filled with good intentions, but of course, aren't the best at English either (which is where the card comes back into the picture). Her mom must have based her purchase solely on the cuteness of the card, because she sure didn't read it. You can see the front of the card, pictured above.
Click here to read the inside of the card. By the way, she didn't sign it... so maybe she did know what it all meant! If you're not laughing, you might have to read it again. Some people didn't quite get it on the first reading!
