It’s after school – WAY after school and I’m still working.  The to-do list never seems to go away and then I’m stupid enough to look at my emails right before I get ready to go and my list suddenly becomes longer.  You would think that hanging out in my room after school would be quiet, conducive in terms of getting work done but all around my room, literally, ALL around my room are children.  Children who are yelling, running, banging into walls, bouncing balls, slamming bathroom doors.  This is not the way they’re instructed to behave during the day, however, when the final bell rings, even though they’re in the same building, a transformation takes place and the monkeys come out.

The teacher in me doesn’t leave just because the bell rings.  I have been known to step out and say a word to a child who is screaming down the hall or who is talking disrespectfully to an adult (college aged, but an adult nevertheless) or not listening/ following directions.  Other days, I do my best to take a deep breath and say to myself, not my circus, not my monkeys.

But they are.  Despite the fact that responsibility shifts from one group of adults to another and the purpose of the children gathering is completely different, they are still in the same building and the behavior should reflect that.  The expectations should be the same or the monkey behavior can seep into their school day.  And it does.  But again, not my circus.

I really try hard not to interrupt these college students, partly because they need to figure out how to deal with kids. On the other hand sometimes I step out and I see one of these students at their wits end or handling something really poorly, not because they’re bad teachers, they’re just inexperienced and I can’t help but step in. I have to admit it’s a kind of fun when I can fix something with a couple of words or a look.  There is something to be said for being old.

Things are especially crazy right now with the holidays coming up and the monkey behavior has ramped up quite a bit.  So much so that it inspired me to write a poem for day three of my creativity challenge.