Right off the bat, let me make something very clear. I love my children and there isn’t anything I won’t do for them. Just about anything.
I was a chaperone for a Second grade class field trip today. We traveled in this beautiful luxury Charter bus with several TVs, roomy overhead compartments for bags and a bathroom on board. It was truly a work of art. You couldn’t ask for a better ride, really. We were also blessed with a scenic route all the way through the hour and a half drive each way. I wouldn’t ride on another one if you printed money in your basement and loaded up my attic with it.
I was a mess when the bus finally pulled into the School grounds at the end of the trip. I barely resisted the urge to drop down on my knees and let out a vicious scream when I got off the bus. I wanted to embrace every teacher and chaperone who sat through the day fielding questions like ‘Mrs. S, can I go to the bathroom again?’, ‘Mrs. S, can we please, please go to the gift shop?’, ‘Mrs. S, boys think girls are hot, what do you think?’ ‘Mrs. S, are we there yet?’, ‘Mrs. S, …………...?’, ‘Mrs. S, ……………..?’ with gusto. One more ‘Mrs. S’ and I would have embarrassed myself and cried.
I sat and watched numbly as my daughter’s teacher smiled, patted a child’s back with gentle reassurance because he seemed to need it, quietly controlled raised voices and through the chaos acted like she was in the midst of nobility in a Royal Palace rather than amongst loud screaming 8 year olds.
There isn’t enough money in our Federal Treasury to convince me to sign up for the next trip. I would rather be gagged, bound and tied upside down over a nice, slow fire.
Which brings me to raise a very important question. Are our teachers getting paid their fair dues to spend 6 hours a day with our children, their loud voices and their curious minds? I sure hope so. If not, I may be easily persuaded to start lobbying for their cause.
