3.04.2011

Mrs. Brown.

Today I had a Mrs. Brown moment. She was my fifth grade teacher and she always made comments typical of a fifty-ish year-old school teacher with thirty somewhat years experience. I wasn’t proud of my comment, I don’t think it offended the child, but it still mortified me that it came out of my mouth.

This morning, as Mrs. D. was in the middle of a story, I looked up and saw Martin holding this:


He was swinging it back and forth and, I can only assume, trying to figure out what it was.  It looked like either a nest of some sort or part of a dead carcass.  I had no clue what it was and here is what came out of my mouth, “Martin Jones, what on heaven and earth are you doing?”

The moment it came out of my mouth, I felt like a fifty-ish year-old school teacher with thirty somewhat years experience. It wasn’t a mean or inappropriate thing to say… I’m pretty sure nobody was hurt or offended… I didn’t raise my voice… but it just wasn’t me.

After taking it away and investigating with Mrs. D. it turns out the offending object was a girl’s hair scrunchie (or is it scrunchy? I will never master the ins and outs of girls hair). We returned it and moved on with our day… but my Mrs. Brown comment haunted me the rest of the day.

3 comments:

Linda said...

Hey, we 50'ish teachers aren't all bad. :-)

Mr. Halpern said...

@Linda - some of my best friends are 50ish teachers... that being said, I'm not anywhere near that age and try not to sound like my parents just yet... :)

Unknown said...

Oh, Good Heavens! You're just adapting your language for the children. ;) I'm only in my early 30's, but I say the gosh darndest things, too. :)