A Dangerous Place

If you want a job that you take seriously with little opportunities to laugh, I don't suggest working in an elementary school. Maybe you should be a funeral director. That or work in the finance industry. As for me, I love working in the land of never-ending laughs.

Yesterday, while observing one of the speech teachers, this was the conversation I heard.

Speech Teacher: Look at this picture. Can you tell me the name of this animal?

Tinkerbell: Dats a bunny.

Speech Teacher: You are right, that is a bunny. Can you tell me another name for a bunny.

Tinkerbell: Well, some teeple call it a wabbit but in my tontry we tall it a bunny. (Interpretation - Well, some people call it a rabbit but in my country we call it a bunny.)

Speech Teacher (trying not to laugh): What country is your country?

Tinkerbell: Georgia (said with complete exasperation for the stupidity of adults).

Often, it is hard to keep a straight face. I'm still humored by the little boys who whip out their stuff to pee on the playground. It is hilarious and I sometimes feel bad for people who live to be so stuffy.

In another incident, Eeyore was brought to school by her uncle. As can happen some mornings, Eeyore was doing the Eeyore shuffle with her head hung low. When I asked if Eeyore was having a rough start (it is safe to say that Eeyore is NOT a morning person), her uncle laughed and said Eeyore was mad. Apparently, she needed a dollar for something in her class and she did not believe him when he said four quarters was a dollar. I love when *problems* are this easy to fix. A simple detour to the school secretary and a quick magic trick to turn four quarters into a dollar almost got a smile from Eeyore. And an almost smile before noon from Eeyore is about as good as it gets. She is more entertaining than an episode of the Wiggles meets the Teletubbies, for sure!

I think my favorite quote of the day came from Barbie Stickers. After air stabbing her pencil and scissors at her teacher because she didn't want to work, she made a visit to me. I tried to talk with her but Barbie Stickers just hissed at me like a cat. Since it was right at the end of the day, I took Barbie Stickers out to the car pick up line where her mother was waiting. While getting in the car, Barbie Stickers started screaming at her mother. One of the things she screamed was "School is dangerous!" This from the girl making stabbing motions at her teacher.

Don't know why, but I thought I would die laughing. Maybe it is a dangerous place after all.