Hello friends, family, and strangers (I flatter myself)! I am a recently-graduated girl finding my way in the "real world" (apparently, I've been floating around the fake world for the past two decades). Many of my friends' "real world"s consist of cubicles, nine-to-fives, marriage, babies, and other such grown-up things. My real world looks a little different. Yes, I still get up and go to work every morning, same as they do. But instead of battling fax machines, computer programs, disgruntled spouses and dirty diapers, I arm myself against a legion of 14-year-old boys. Well, 83 of them to be exact. You see, I teach 8th-grade boys' Science in an inner-city, high-poverty school. What it is not: glamorous, prestigious, boring. What it is: humorous, heartbreaking, and the most challenging thing I will ever do.

The stories I tell and the people I describe are real; you can't make this stuff up. If you are new to my blog, I hope you'll start at the beginning and fall in love with its characters, just as I have.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

TMI stands for Too Much Information and Terrible Mental Image

I'm helping Tre'Sean and Je'Cory with their worksheet on geologic time. Tre'Sean stands up to re-tuck his shirt/tug up his pants when I catch sight of something strange...

Was that?

Did I just see?

Tre'vonne turns around from the front row and says out loud what I'm thinking in my head: "Bruh. You got on silk drawers??"

I hide my face behind my paper and bite my lip.

"Yeah bruh!" Tre'Sean answers.

"Was dey....RED WIT WHITE HEARTS??"

"Yeah!"

I am now laughing audibly, for indeed; red, shiny sateen boxers are blousing out from Tre'Sean's pants. Like the cheesy ones you see at Wal-Mart around Valentine's Day.

"BRUH. Whatchu doin' wit them things?" Tre'vonne is laughing with me.

"Mann dat silk feel GOOD on your butthole!"

"UMMMM....Excuse me??" I say. "Do you not see me standing right here? Did you not remember that your FEMALE TEACHER was in the middle of helping you with your timeline??"

Ughhhh. There's nothing quite like the charismatic charm of a 13-year-old boy.
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5 comments:

  1. LaceyOctober 22, 2010 at 11:27 AM

    haha-that is too funny! i had to comment! Love your stories!

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  2. UnknownOctober 25, 2010 at 9:25 AM

    I was on a flight last Thursday from Birmingham to Charlotte, and had the good luck to sit next to your dad. We talked about a whole range of things starting with dentistry, as I am a first year dental student at UAB. Of everything we discussed, his amazing daughter who is a teacher was his favorite topic and he is exceptionally proud of you, I must say. He wrote down your web address and told me to check it out. Your insights are definitely humorous and inspirational. Keep up the good fight!
    -Hugh O.

    ReplyDelete
  3. StarlaOctober 26, 2010 at 7:29 AM

    You know that M loves those sateen boxers!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnnOctober 26, 2010 at 4:49 PM

    Hugh, I asked my dad about you and he went on and on about what a "sharp, nice young man" you were! Thanks for providing him with some good company during the flight. Good luck in dental school--do you know Steve Smith? He's married to one of my best friends and he's a first year at UAB as well. Thanks for reading!

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownOctober 31, 2010 at 2:52 PM

    Thank you and your pops for the kind words! Small world, Steve happens to be my partner in entry level clinic rotations, our class President, and a great guy. I respect him very much. Thanks again for the well wishes.

    ReplyDelete

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