Posted on 01/20/2005 5:10:29 AM PST by Obadiah
My late grandmother would have translated your "down-home people" as "plain dirt folks," and that was a compliment. So thank you! I like to think I can live up to that, at least most of the time - there's nothing like a crowd of children to give you a kick in your pretensions :-).
Luckily none of the kids has kicked me in the pretensions yet.
It sounds as if you're an excellent teacher, and a fine member of your community! (Do you sense the Molasses Miasma of Niceness there?) Just kidding, that was a sincere observation, based on your comments here.
I love people like your grandma. I had a parent who flat-out told me that she did not like to read with her kid. Anybody else might have offended me in saying this, but she was one of those "dirt people." I absolutely loved talking to her. She would say, "You know, some teachers are crap, but you, you're all right." She was SUCH a support throughout the whole year and was such an inspiration to me. At our awards program near the last day of school, she actually cried. I've never had a parent do that before.
I actually live in my school boundaries so I am literally a member of my community (I actually bought a house from a student--new method of class size reduction). I love it. This year, I have more "dirt people" as kids and parents. One mom is putting together some kind of gift (I don't know what) for me and keeps asking all these weird questions so the suspense is "killing" me.:)
Good news about the schools! I hope the rest of the year goes terrific for you and your students.
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