I walked in on the Assistant Principal talking to another teacher in the lounge.  They were talking about which teachers had good discipline and which didn't.  The VP said she never saw my students.  Why was that?  I said it was because I take care of those issues in my classroom.  I don't want to waste time and give control of an issue to another person.  Then the students think I either don't care, or I can't deal with it.  I want them to know who is in charge in this room.

The VP said some of the teachers send kids to the office because they took their pencils home to do homework and forgot to bring them back.  Then the teacher gets mad when the VP gives the child a pencil and sends them back to class. (I thought learning was why they came here)

Since when are minor issues a need to send kids to the office?  Why aren't teachers taking care of these issues on their own?  Our VP should be taking care of things like, bullying, fights, kids trying to break rocks off the new playground wall, and major issues like that.  Pencils?

Billy called Sammy a Sissy!  Billy got sent to the principal.  Who knew that that was an important issue?

At the end of the conversation, I got the compliment of the year...Both the teacher and the VP said the reason I didn't have problems in my class was because I dealt with it and the kids respected me for it.  VP said the kids actually told her that they really "liked" me.  ME?  I can't really believe that.  I don't yell all the time anymore but I am still strict and make them tow the rope. 

Then later the same day, another aide came up to me and said she had heard I was the best teacher on campus.  She said she agreed because when she is in my class with her special needs child, I show respect and love to all the children.  I make learning fun.  Wow!  Two compliments in one day!  Who knew?  Maybe I should get a pillar to stand on so people can admire me.

I would probably just fall off when I went for the drink or the smoke.  Did I tell you I am trying to quit smoking?  Drinking isn't so much a problem since I don't really do it at all.  However, smoking...!