“Miss!” one of my seventh graders yelled, “There’s fake blood all over the wall!”
The kids acting the Hammurabi skit froze as we all whipped our heads around. Sure enough, the entire wall — my “Class Objectives” whiteboard, our vocabulary words, and the stately blue paint — were splattered with red carnage. But that wasn’t all. A river of fake blood streaked the wooden floor, and the clothes of the student actors were polka-dotted red. Oh my!
All twenty-eight of us turned towards the student-actor holding the plastic sword filled with fake blood: the prop we had thought was such a great idea ten minutes ago. Red liquid dripped from a crack in the sword, oozing down the student’s dainty arm.
“Whoops!” the girl murmured. “Guess I waved it around too hard!”
We all burst into uncontrollable laughter. I mopped up the blood and we started the skit anew.
Oooh man… is there any better career than this? People tend to explain the joy of being a teacher chiefly in terms of idealism: “Teachers help the citizens of tomorrow, and what could be better than that?” But the OTHER reason teaching is the best job is just as compelling: it is HILARIOUS! Teaching middle school, especially, is ridiculously enjoyable and entertaining, every single day. Sure, we get our learning done; we write our essays and build those brain cells… but it is the moments in between that make it delicious.
Word is we’re having visitors from Singapore to our school next week. How do I explain the blood on the vocabulary? :)
The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!
Christine Yu
Monday 25th of March 2013
A lot of the times, I think about becoming a teacher. Teaching seems like a fun job, and you certainly can approve of that. What college(s) do you recommend to study for becoming a teacher?
Lillie
Monday 25th of March 2013
That makes me so happy, Christine!!!! There are MANY ways to become certified as a teacher, but I'd say the first step is get into a good 4-year college, study a topic that interests you but that could still help with the subject you might want to teach (ex: I majored in Comparative Literature and now teach English/Humanities), THEN go for a 1 or 2 year teacher certification program: either a Master's degree or an in-the-classroom training program like Boston Teacher Residency. Good luck and be in touch! :)
Ryan @Treksplorer
Sunday 30th of December 2012
I'm a teacher as well and got a kick out of reading this post! So many great moments can be had in the classroom (along with all the frustrating ones!).
Like you, I much prefer teaching older students. I've done quite a bit of substituting for every grade level and usually feel completely spent after a day with the little guys! Haven't had a lice outbreak yet, though (knock on wood)!
Lillie
Monday 31st of December 2012
Yay, Ryan!
Fiona P
Tuesday 4th of December 2012
Heyyy remember me! I know you loved my clss 7BILLION times more than this year ;)
Lillie
Monday 31st of December 2012
Aw, Fiona, of course I remember you, and I love all classes in different ways! :)
Laura @Travelocafe
Tuesday 4th of December 2012
My husband is also a teacher and I'm sure he will agree with you. Love the post. I have to remember to show it to my husband. Uh, better I email him the link.
Lillie
Tuesday 4th of December 2012
Hope he likes it! I just published a companion article to it on the Gates Foundation blog, here: http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2012/12/The-Career-Advice-That-Can-Change-The-World
Caitlyn
Tuesday 4th of December 2012
That was my skit! :)
Lillie
Tuesday 4th of December 2012
You're now Internet famous! :)