Grrrrr...

I was SOOOOO angry yesterday. My homeroom class had me HEATED. I mean, I gotta say it...I was PISSED!! And why, you're wondering, was I so...let me visit dictionary.com right quick...type in "angry"...click the "thesaurus" tab...okay: "Displeased"? Not strong enough... "Bitter"? "Enraged"? Um, naw, those are a bit much. "Annoyed" works. So do "cross", "fuming", and the straightforward "extremely mad". Well, I was fuming over two words: SUNFLOWER SEEDS. You're gonna need some background info...

As I mentioned in my "intro" post, I teach math to 7th grade girls. Yes, I know, you're going to "pray for me"...that's usually the response when I tell people what I do for a living. Honestly, teaching middle school students is challenging...teaching middle school math is even more taxing...but middle school math to ALL GIRLS? I thank you in advance for your prayers.

I'd say I'm a pretty laid-back teacher. I make a sincere effort to make learning as fun and interesting as possible (yes people, today's teacher has to be an "EDU-TAINER" - you gotta put on a show for the kids...I'm practicing my juggling right after I finish typing this post). My classroom is casual - the main rule is NO SUNFLOWER SEEDS. On the first day of school, I stress the fact that sunflower seeds are not allowed. I elaborate on how I will go completely berserk if I see sunflower seeds in my classroom. As I explain my intense hate for sunflower seeds, the girls are laughing at my song and dance, but I make sure that they realize that I am absolutely, positively serious. It's to the point where, when new students arrive, I ask the class, "What does Ms. Draper hate more than anything??", and my girls reply in unison, "Sunflower Seeds!!"

Okay, so back to my "rant"...we're testing in school this week, and with testing you have lots of rules, regulations, and other crap. I followed the proper procedures, and when I returned to my classroom from dropping off testing materials, the first thing I saw were sunflower seed shells strewn on the floor around a few desks. I can't lie - I straight up snapped. Thinking back, I'm kind of amazed that I was able to swallow the stampede of profanities that was charging up my throat, towards the tip of my tongue. I demanded, "I want to know who has the sunflower seeds, and I want to know RIGHT...NOW!!!" Complete silence. A few snickers and stifled giggles. I stood in front of the girls, staring intently, and said, "Believe me when I say this...we will NOT LEAVE THIS ROOM until I know WHO BROUGHT THOSE SUNFLOWER SEEDS INTO MY CLASSROOM!! I will make every girl in this room HATE ME until I find out WHO DID IT, so you'd better MAKE A DECISION RIGHT NOW...WHO HAD THE SUNFLOWER SEEDS??" Whew, the snitches came out of the woodworks!! Fingers pointed, students yelled, "Latranecia did it!!" "Latranecia gave the sunflower seeds to Try'Neshia and she was eatin' too!" "I saw Zantoneriah eating some too!!" **names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent, but these creative (created?) names are quite representative of my class roster**

I walked out into the hallway to cool off, and actually giggle a bit...7th grade girls are so easy to break. I didn't have to shine a spotlight on them or anything, LOL. The teacher in the classroom next door had her door open, and I walked over...she chuckled and said, "Whoo Ms. Draper, we heard you over there going off - why are you so mad?" I stood in the doorway of the 8th grade English class - the girls inside were my previous students. I had taught them in the 6th grade, then moved up with them to 7th grade math - I was proud of how much we had accomplished in the two years we were together. I looked at my now-8th grade girls and asked, "Why do you think I was over there yelling at my homeroom?" They replied in unison, "Sunflower Seeds!"

I slapped a detention on the culprits, which is rare for me because I hate staying after school for detention. I'm still mad too. Livid even.