Pop Goes the Teacher

Today my morning started off great. Things went smoothly in my first class and I got a lot of work done during my prep period. It all went sour after lunch today.

After a 3rd block fiasco where the power went out and all planning for a computer based lesson went out the window, how could 4th hour get any worse? The answer starts with a girl who walked in late with a note and some cupcakes. Knowing that I would forget to un-mark her absence on the computer, I sat down on my exercise ball that I use as a desk chair (for I've found that at the end of the day, my back feels great) and fixed her attendance. I then sat up straight waiting for the possibility that I was going to get my hands on one of those cupcakes that she strolled in with. It was my lucky day, for she started walking over to my desk, and right when she started to extend her arm with the goods, "BLAM," my exercise ball popped.

I wasn't bouncing, there weren't any sharp objects underneath, and my jeans didn't have anything protruding...it just popped. As I lay on the ground not moving, but just thinking about what happened, I heard comments from the kids "The teacher's Balloon just popped" and "Where did the teacher go" and of course all of this was either accompanied or followed by laughter, I can't remember how it went.

Finally, I got up and the students asked if I was OK, in which I replied that I was. I then pulled up my original desk chair and sat looking at the class. In a very serious tone, I told them "Now nobody is to hear about this." Of course everyone started cracking up, even the girl that never says anything or has no reaction to anything. I then picked up one of the pieces (of which there were 3), stretching it out, then commented that "now my bigger, taller, older brother finally has a swim cap to wear". Again, more laughter.

This continued on for about half an hour in which the kids recapped what had happened and told jokes about the situation. I, of course, found the situation to be funny as well, so I laughed along with them. As you may have guessed, we didn't do very much in class today.

At 2:45 there were 28 students that knew the story of my ball popping. Now, an hour after, I'm guessing that this number has multiplied so that about half the school knows about it...fantastic.