Monday, January 21, 2008 - When the kid's mum cuts your hair...
 As a teacher in a relatively small town (there's about eight primary schools, so I don't know most of the kids, but I seem to know enough of them), there's always a pretty good chance that, come holidays, each time you wander down the street to grab some food to fill the pantry, you're going to run into one or three kids or families. Some will holler out your name in greeting in the loudest voice they can muster, waving furiously as though their pinky finger has just been bitten by a dirty great yabbie who just won't let go. Others will hope you didn't see them and cross the plaza floor to walk on the other side, keeping their head down and intently studying the posters of women's products stuck to the shop window.
Once a term or so I'll get my hair cut in the cheap joint in the local plaza, right out the front of the main shop. The lady who cuts my hair happens to be the mum of one of the kids I had the pleasure of teaching last year, so at least we have something to chat about. She wants some dirt on him, so I make something up and ask the poor little bugger about the outcome on Monday morning. All good. Today was no exception.
This is also the kid who turned up just before school photo day with his hair in a mohawk. Funny thing is, it suited him and didn't really stand out as much as it would on other kids. He carried it well and didn't make any fuss at all over it. It was just his hair, nothing more.
I knew it was his birthday in two days time (with some kids you just remember their birthdays) so I brought that up, get mum to wish him a happy birthday for me. No worries. He's at his Dad's at the moment though, so she'll let him know when he gets back later in the week. Good thing I reminded her about his birthday though, because it's the same day the school opens before term for parents to pick up their kids' school supplies. Well... that's where we hatched our plan.
When he gets back home at the end of the week, ready to get presents from this half of the family, he'll be handed a great big box wrapped in nice paper. When he opens them, he'll find this year's school supplies. My little parting shot at him.
We'll have a laugh about it when he finds me in the schoolyard again. That's the way it should be.
|
|
Post A Comment!
|
Thursday, January 24, 2008 - school supplies |
| Posted by Anonymous |
When my boys were around that age they loved getting school supplies. New pencils and pens and crayons and markers and things. I usually bought more for them at Christmas, too (because here that's the school semester break). I still put fun-shaped erasers, new pens, and mechanical pencils in their Christmas stockings - plus all the things that have become family traditions through the years: small flashlights, pocketknives, cards, batteries, a Christmas tree ornament, a small tool of some kind, and candy. This year's tool wasn't actually a traditional sort of tool, but a titanium spork because my older son believes sporks are the utensil of the future and has convinced the younger one of that as well.
~Cindy |
| Permanent Link |
|
About Me
This is an offspring of the School Spirit Webcomic site. Where that site features the comic strip itself, this site focuses more on the real life minor adventures of teaching in semi-rural Victoria.
Friends
|
