Back to School Special

8:15 a.m: Presenting a united front against the swine flu, us teachers lined up at the entrance wearing rubber gloves and surgical masks to assure parents that indeed our school would be a safe haven from epidemic. The children were clearly frightened by our mad scientist-like look, and we had to constantly lower our masks so they could recognize our faces. Surgical masks later became a jovial peek-a-boo device for my 1-year-old school crush.

8:45 a.m: Classes begin and my poor teaching skills are worsened further by my new inabilities to flip through flashcards, effectively shame children (because I look like a doctor/clown) or speak without having the mask slide down my face.10:30 a.m: I move out of my basement classroom for my 2-hour help period with the toddlers. Everyone has taken off the gloves and shoved their masks off their faces. The charade is over.

1:00 p.m: Parents start trickling in to retrieve their snot monsters. Masks and gloves go on.
[In my defense, I worked a 12-hour day today, so you can't blame this post on me having too much free time. You can blame it on me being vain, though].