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|| TARAJI
Every child that poured into my classroom ogled the donuts on my desk, but they were mindful enough to wait for me to pass them out instead of just running up and taking one out of the box. I put the donuts on those old school nostalgic paper plates that looked like animals, and that made them even more excited. They were all kicking their feet under their desks and bouncing in their seats. I'm probably going to regret the sugar high that they're bound to experience, but that just means that they'll have a very successful nap time. I stood at the front of the classroom, looking around at all of their smiling, giddy little faces. I held off on giving out the donuts because I wanted them to listen to what I had to say first. They were chatting rather loudly about how excited they were for the donuts, so I clapped my hands 3 times to get their attention.
Taraji: 1, 2, 3...
Kids: All eyes on me!
Taraji: Good job. As you can see, we have a very special treat today. Does anybody know why?
All of their hands shot up into the air, but I saw Destiny's hand go up before everyone else's. Destiny has a bit of an attitude problem when it comes to her thinking that she's smarter and better than the other kids, but she just needs guidance on ways to channel her confidence in a healthy, positive way that doesn't make the other kids feel inferior. I enjoy her sass, and I know how to keep her in line without making her feel like she has to tone down her security within herself. She always manages to give me a good laugh right before I have to move her pin from green to red and make her sit out during recess. Most teachers send their misbehaved kids to the library during recess, but I don't want my children to think of reading as a punishment, so I allow them to go outside and get some sunlight, but they have to sit on the sidewalk the whole time. However, I rarely ever have to punish my kids at all, and for that I am grateful. I hate to see my students cry when they're in trouble. With the drop of one tear I'm ready to forget all of their wrongs and absolve them of their consequences, but it's not my job to be their friend.
Taraji: Yes, Destiny?
Destiny: Is it because we're super awesome?
Taraji: Don't get me wrong, you guys are super awesome, but that's not exactly the answer I was looking for. There's a more specific reason. Does anybody else wanna take a shot at it?
Aubrey looked like he was ready to burst with the answer, but I wasn't going to call on him because he got the answer from me, and that wouldn't be fair to his classmates. I ended up picking Noah, a quiet kid who sits in the back. He's a bit antisocial, but he's a sweetheart. He draws a picture for me everyday, and I keep every single one. I plan on transforming one of my white boards into a giant cork board so that I can hang up all of the pictures that I have received from my students.
