16 weeks and my plea

---I'll just post the picture and get on with it...16 weeks and 1 day (today). Normal pants are tight and maternity pants are too big, but much more comfortable! A student told me today that I am starting to "look fat" ...gee, thanks. Feeling good mostly, except still ready for a nap (or even the actual bed time) by 3pm each day.

In other news, life is supremely crazy. I'm in the last week (thank the heavens!) of my horrible linguistics class for my master's. It's been torture. The next class starts on Monday, though, so there will be no semester break for me. With the end of 1st quarter coming, the Primary program on Sunday, and studying for a teacher certification test, ON TOP OF planning lessons and such, I'm beside myself. (I know I chose to be involved in all of the above. I'm not complaining. Just venting).

I have a plea to all my readers who have children. I would think that the readers of this very fine blog would already adhere to the guidelines set forth by this plea, but just in case you aren't, perhaps I could set you on the right path?

My plea involves the raising up of respectful and pleasant children to become respectful and pleasant teenagers (namely, junior high students). This concept always seems to hit me a few times each school year, and has just hit me for the first time this year. I see 140 teenagers personally each day (much more if you count the crazies in the hallway). Of the 140 teenagers I see in my room each day, I would guesstimate that only about 20%-30% show respect and pleasantness each day. I plead with you parents (and here by promise to do the same when baby Hubert arrives) to teach your children what it means to be respectful and pleasant. (No, not a brown noser because, truthfully, teachers--at least me--hate this, too).

Here are a few things I would hope your own perfect children would not do to their 8th grade English teacher (who, by the way, is cute and nice and super cool to bring candy in every once in a while...):

1. When your teenage student is in 3rd period English class and her teacher is asking the class if anyone has seen the Martin Luther King Jr. book that is very much needed because, after all, it was just on her desk, your student should not knowingly hide the book UNDER HER SHIRT and laugh at her very sweet teacher when she asks, "Maria, do you have the book?" Your respectful teenage student shouldn't also laugh at the teacher when the teacher so politely snatches the said book from her hands and says every so nicely, "Thanks so much!"

2. When your teenage student, this time a boy, has been instructed to stop acting like a chicken for the twentieth time and refuses to do so, and the teacher finally looses it (still remaining the ever so lovely young teacher) by literally screaming and falling to the floor. Your respectful teenage student--who for some unknown reason gains pleasure from acting like a chicken (with sound effects and chicken strut)--should also not give the wonderful teacher the wrong phone number while she tries (with the student in the same room) to contact a parent about the chicken problem. In this case, the wise, seasoned young teacher goes completely balastic and resolves to write a letter to the parents instead.

3. When your teenage student (pick a gender for this one) is caught drawing PORNOGRAPHIC pictures on his/her folder, which the sweet English teacher SPENT HER OWN MONEY ON, and denies the act by not so secretly throwing the folder--and the sharpie marker, which was more than likely stolen off of this same sweet teacher's desk--across the room to a friend. This same student should also never yell out random disgusting words (think female body parts and other such sexual terms) at any given point in your instruction. The sweet teacher, at the end of this day, cries a little when the bell rings...not because it was a bad day, but because it's over and the porno drawing student just might not come to school the next day.

Well, I could go on. Really. These things only just happened this week. Really.

So please, friends, urge your sweet teenage students to be angels to their 8th grade English teacher. Because if you don't teach them this, that same sweet English teacher just might slip a swear word a few times and you probably don't want that to happen.