It was April 10, 1978...a Monday. But not just any Monday. It was the Monday following the 2 days of Spring Break.
NOTE: In 1978, there were only 2 days of holidays between Christmas Holidays and Summer Break, which came in June. The 2 precious days were Spring Break!
Mrs. Tense was unusually grumpy...
First period, she gave the students an assignment. If anybody ask a question, she grunted--hoping nobody had the guts to ask her to repeat her answer. She got her wish!
Second period, she had advanced to a low talk for an answer. The first two students to ask her to repeat the answer were awoken with a yell. Nobody asked her any more questions that period.
Ahh, the 10:10 Break! Welcomed by everyone, especially on this day back from Paradise.
Mrs. Tense and her teaching buddy, Mrs. Square Dress, loved this time of the day. They took turns using each other's classroom for their break. The consistent part of the break was the snack: a pack of peanuts and a Tab to wash them down. The ladies would share stories and laugh. It wa so wonderful to have adult contact.
Brrrrrrrrrr!!!!!! The 10:20 End-the-Break Bell went off.
All parties scrambled to their third period class.
Third period, found Mrs. Tense and most students more awake. She decided to play the game: Write, read, and share.
The game consisted of the student writing about a given topic. Next, the student read a partner's story (either by choice or at random...Mrs. Tense mixed things up). Finally, the student would share the answers to the following questions with their partner.
1. Rate the beginning (or hook) on a scale of 1 to 10. The partner could ask for verification of the rating.
2. Tell the most-liked content. The partner could ask for verification.
3. Share any unclear parts of the writing. The partner could ask for further explanation.
4. Rate the conclusion (or finish) of the writing. The partner could ask for clarification.
At Mrs. Tense's discretion, she would call time. The students would return to their own seats. Then, Mrs. Tense would ask for volunteers that believed their partner's writing was worthy of sharing with the class. Mrs. Tense would usually allow 3 to 5 students to share.
The topic: If you could be an animal, which one would you choose. Why?
Today, many of the students struggled to write anything, but not Dorothea Davis. She was wide awake--fresh off reading 5 books during her precious four-day weekend break. Dorothea's favorite class was English, and it showed. Mrs. Tense had allowed the students to choose their partners this day. (She was pretty apathetic about the entire day.) Dorothea and Marty paired up. Marty also loved English, and the two always paired up if they were given a choice. Sure enough, when Mrs. Tense ask for students to volunteer their partner, Marty raised his hand.
Marty exclaimed, "Dorothea has out done herself today."
Some of the students groaned.
Mike said, "Do you have to be so LOUD, dude?"
Mrs. Tense asked Dorothea to come to the front of the class to share.
Dorothea enthusiastically began, "If I were an animal, I would be a bird. Migrating would be my favorite time of the year. My wings would allow me to soar to new region after new region. I would stop and eat the food provided by God. When full, my buddies and I would take off. There would be times we would stop overnight. Usually, the next morning would find us up at daybreak searching for the proverbial worm! We often played for awhile prior to scooting off to our next stop. Also, I would love to be a mother-bird. I would find food, then vomit it in my little chicks' mouths. (At this point, some students almost gagged themselves.) I confess there would be ONE serious problem! Due to mother nature's desire to protect me, I would be a boring earth color, while my husband would be a beautiful, vibrant color. Thank you."
As Dorothea sat down, two people clapped, while several students looked at her like they could vomit in her mouth!
Mrs. Tense simply said, "Wonderful Dorothea!"
More volunteers shared....
By 3:15, Mrs. Tense was elated. She always did school work at school and home. However, today was different. She left at 3:17 with no papers. The day after Spring Break was like no other. Freddy would be taking her out to eat tonight, and he better like it!
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