$$ Money Money $$

Back in teacher school, one professor told us "NEVER spend your own money on the classroom. If you do it once, it becomes a drug of destruction."

True.

Today I bought 300 Dum Dums, 90 Air Heads, and 40 Ring Pops. My 1st period is lucky I love them so much, and that I think it is pathetic they have to take 15 hours worth of standardized tests in the course of a week, after having already spent 24 hours on other standardized tests since the beginning of the school year. If they have to get sick on tests, I'll make sure they also get sick on sugar.

On a sweeter note.

Earlier this week (as we were highlighting all the practice standardized tests they make us work on in preparation) my 2nd period complained that the markers were drying up. I responded with this, in my angriest voice, "That's because you don't know how to put on a lid. Look, I taught for two years on one pack of markers before I came here. Do you know how many I've bought for Deal Middle School? FOUR! I'm not buying anymore, so deal with it!"

The next morning, before the kids scrambled off to classes . . . Victoria approached me in the hallway and handed me a brand new pack of markers. "These are for you. I felt bad yesterday when you told us you have to buy us things. You shouldn't have to do that." I gave her the biggest hug and asked "Did you have these at your house?"

"No, I walked to the store and bought them for you yesterday after school. Hopefully you don't have to buy us anymore," she said with a giant smile. All the while she was reassuring me that the grade bump I gave her was well earned.

Some of these kids are so wonderful. Now, if only someone in my 1st period would bring in a box of tissues, I complain about that to them daily (only after they complain about having to blow their nose with those big-old-brown-bathroom-paper-towel-rolls . . . you'd really think someone would have brought me tissues by now).