Sick Day
Yesterday a student asked me if he could go to the bathroom. Lately I’ve been moving away from my obnoxious “I don’t know, CAN YA?” response, which I use solely to make fun of those teachers who say it seriously to their students in order to turn an innocent word usage error into a barf-worthy “teachable moment.” You know the type. Anyway, I’m afraid if I do it too much, the irony will be lost and the kids will actually think I’m one of those teachers. Instead, I said to Bobby, “You’re in middle school. You’re too old to have to ask to go to the bathroom. Just let me know when you’re going so I don’t lose track of you.” Bobby nodded his head—kind of gravely, I thought at the time—and went on his way. About 5 minutes later, one of the girls lifted her head from the essay I had assigned them. She looked around the room. “Where’s Bobby?” she asked. I shrugged my shoulders. “Who knows,” I murmured, my attention focused on the thesis statement in front of me that a stu