The auditorium is as I remember from my childhood. It's cramped, hot, and the really big old fans don't get turned on until the principal says it's okay.
Which she did. Which was a good thing because there were lots of pregnant women roasting in their seats. I was not one of them - but I was suffering from the effects of the odd 90 degree days we'd been experiencing.
Our son's teacher is a pro. We walk into room 124 and it's neat, orderly, and organized. We sit down at his desk. She begins to talk and adds that she hasn't asked the children to clean up their desks. She wants us instead to see exactly how the desks are kept.
This signals doom in our household. I put my hand in and several crayons and a white sock tumble out. She continues talking and says there should only be one or two pencils and their folders for poetry and weather, along with math and language arts journals. All other materials should be in the pencil boxes. Uh oh. I catch a crayon or two and the others hit the floor. The other parents in his cluster don't seem to be having the same problem.
The mother across the way pulls out a pencil box filled to capacity. Our boy's is filled with an unopened glue stick. Points for the boy - he kept the cap on! I move some things around without putting them away. And my hand hits an object I don't recognize. And then I do -- contraband. It's a red crayola crayon sharpener - and not on the school supply list. I recall at least two conversations about not bringing it to school.
It seems that all those pockets in his backpack have been used for something. The transportation and distribution of kid contraband. I leave it tucked in the back of the desk, where I found it.
The teacher goes over the curriculum, homework and thanks us for helping to start off every day on a high note. It's time to put the chairs back on top of the desks.
Back To School Night ends and I find myself hoping that our boy remembers this teacher the way I remember my first grade teacher. Room 10, Miss Geneva Hayes. Because she taught me to read, and I haven't stopped since.
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