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I had no clue what I was going to do for this theme when I walked past the 2nd floor landing that looks out into the commons area where our students have lunch. After all, what’s more vibrant than 400 adolescents all hopped up on carb-heavy school lunch, candy and caffeinated drinks?
I purposely took these with my cell phone, I would have had to blur out a lot more faces if I had used my good camera. But despite the non-professional pictures, I still wanted to use this for the theme because it fits. And I have a really good punch line that goes with them.
I was standing here when another teacher came up the stairs and I looked at her and asked:
“Seriously, can you stand up here, look down there and not wish you had a dozen water balloons?”
The assistant principal just laughed when I told him my “idea” (in quotes because I have no intention of doing it, I really do like my job) and he just laughed, said he loved the idea but, like me, wants to keep his job.
The counselor I made the joke to wants to organize a voluntary water balloon toss for the kids at the end of the year. She thought of putting little rubber tokens in every 3rd or 4th balloon, offering prizes for everyone who gets a token and then filling the area with students who get parental permission to get water thrown on them.
My principal has allowed some crazy things to be done in the 7 years I worked with her, but I don’t think this is going to fly.
Than again, you never know…
10 comments:
You are the coolest teacher ever. I can imagine how the conversation would have played out. Can't stop smiling at the thought.
I love how you've taken this theme in such a unique direction. Vibrant can be so many things: You've just proven it. Delightful!
While I'm still laughing.....I feel like saying...Welcome Back Kotter!....It's good to have you back at school again...I love the little ideas you all come up with...even if you can't really do most of them...it's just a riot reading about them! Have a great year Max!
Thanks. you guys make me laugh, you make me blush. And you probably don't realize how important this little Thematic Photographic community has become to me.
What a great idea! and I love the student pics too ;)
I bet you're doing some vibrant teaching!
I know teachers who would prefer to use a fire hose. Interesting thought that you need the parents' permission to douse their kids - that would spoil the surprise.
Unique take on the theme - well done, Max.
And my thought is, "Then how do you keep the students from spitting on those below them when they cross that balcony?" Remember the stairwells at East High in our days there? No one ever grabbed ahold of the inner railings because kids would always stand at the top of the fourth floor and see how far down they could spit. And you may recall that in the school where I teach, no kids are allowed to sit in the front rows of the balcony in the auditorium for the same reason.
Writer - A couple of things keep the spitting from happening (or to a tolerable minimum).
During lunch time the students stay in that area on the first floor, so only a few kids with hall passes go past it anyway, and there's always an adult right there for crowd control.
Between classes during the day, the natural traffic pattern of the building keeps the students under the balcony, there is no natural flow to bring the kids out in the open area where they could be spit-targets.
A vibrant community indeed Max. Water bombs would never have been allowed at the school where I was head eithetr. The parents overprotect their children these days. Oddly though, they’d quite happily have a member of staff have wet sponges thrown at them to raise funds!
LOL Oh what a delightful post- I love your sense of humor
Johnina :D
Along with the vibrant photos (very observant of you) I love the water balloon "idea"! Who says teachers are stuffed shirts?
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