Mr. Teacher

A Few of My Favorite Things (continued)

by John Pearson

Number 2: My (Hispanic) students who greet me with, “Bon jour!” every morning.

First thing each morning, I pick my kids up from the gym and lead the long line back to my classroom. After I open the door, I stand there with my hand out, giving each child a (not so) high five and saying, “Good morning!” On some days, I would substitute this with, “Buenos dias!”

This got kind of boring. Saying, “Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!” 20-some times in a row made me feel very monotonous. So I started switching it up with “Bon jour!” “Guten morgan!” “Aloha!” and other similar phrases.

For whatever reason, Bon jour stuck with several of the boys, and now they shout it at me in the morning. It makes me smile. C’est la vie!

Number 1: One of my students saying, “Thank you for teaching me!”

It doesn’t happen very often. But the fact that it DOES happen, however infrequently, makes me feel great to be doing what I do.

John Pearson is a third-grade math and science teacher in Dallas, Texas.  He has degrees in mechanical engineering from Duke University and Texas A&M, so most consider his math abilities adequate enough to teach nine-year olds.  He is also the author of Learn Me Good (Lulu, 2006), a funny, fictionalized account of his first year in education.  Read more at www.learnmegood.com

Want more info on this topic? Start a discussion with our diverse community. Start a discussion