V-Reaky Friday
by John Pearson
This Friday is a very special day for most elementary school children. I'm speaking of course about Friday the 13th! No, I'm just kidding. I am actually referring to Valentine's Day. A day which is second only to Halloween in terms of expected sugar highs.
My teaching partner and I have decided that we will have a low-key, subdued party in the afternoon. The kids will have a chance to pass out their valentines and a little bit of candy, but there will be no giant food fest or day-long movie marathon.
I went to the store recently to pick up some cards to distribute to my kids. I looked for little candy hearts that said, "Only two weeks until TAKS!" or, "Remember: multiplication and division are NOT the same thing!" but I had no luck. I did find a plethora of High School Musical cards, though, which I avoided like an out-of-control nail gun.
During my first year as a teacher, I learned the lesson of fair valentines distribution. That was the year that I had one little boy who did not bring any cards for anybody, yet he had the audacity to sit at his desk and shout, "HEY! I didn't get one of those!" whenever anyone was slow in bringing him a cookie or cupcake.
Since then, I have made sure that each child receives a list of their classmates in advance along with the rule that everyone has to bring enough goodies for everyone else in the class. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems since then.
It's always nice to get a little something from my students, but I don't include myself in the "everyone" list. However, I have received some very memorable cards over the years.
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