A Mama for Boys

I have taught for about four years. When I first started working in schools, I worked at alternative schools, and all of my students were boys. Now that I'm in a "mainstream" school, I have had to widen my student demographic to include girls.

Girls are ok...

But boys are my niche.

I tend to be a "tough" teacher who is not into warm and fuzzies.

Girls usually doodle in class... drawing hearts, stars, names, and other stuff that looks cute with glitter.

Boys, on the other hand, like activity.

Girls don't take sarcasm well, and boys (many of them) do.

I tend to teach to boys because the thought of glitter makes me gag... which is very good because most teachers teach to girls.

It is for this reason that I can totally see myself as the mother of boys. Rough and tumble boys. Boys who climb trees, play sports, and eat their parents out of house and home (because I can't seem to grasp the concept of "cooking for two").

For now, my students are my sons, and I love them! I found a Christmas card from the 5th grade boys I taught three yeas ago, and I cried. I loved them, and I hope they are doing well. I cry (even now) when I talk about them in conversation because I so desperately wanted to shield them from whatever tragedies they experienced in their homes.

This motherly love is probably the reason why my professional goals include opening an academy for inner city boys. I could totally be a mama for boys!