I"ll Always Be "Mrs. Aakhus" to Them.

Last night, we took the girls to the fair in Thief River Falls. The weather was miserable. It was 55 degrees, windy, and rainy. The weather did create some advantages to us as it made all the lines shorter and weeded out some of the crazies that are always at a fair.

The girls and I had a blast. Jason - not so much. He's coming down with the same cold I've been battling all week. He ended up waiting for us in the car.

At the fair, I saw several of "my kids." These kids are the ones who were in my seventh grade communications class this Spring.

"Hi. Mrs. Aakhus." They would say in unison. Always in unison. Because, it's a formal affair to say hi to one of your teachers.

One time, I spilled a bunch of pop on the floor and I asked them not to tell anyone that I wasn't smooth. They nodded "Of course, of course." so seriously.

I remember when I started student teaching how foreign the title "Mrs. Aakhus" was. I always felt they were sort of making fun of me. I've never been "Mrs. Aakhus." I've always been "Bobbi." It took me about three weeks to get used to the idea that I was the "Mrs. Aakhus" they were talking about.

I love these kids. When I stood in front of them with some great lesson on "What's the Difference between Situational Irony and Verbal Irony?" I 'd look out into the classroom and see the very best in them. Sure, they could be annoying. Sure, they'd say snotty things to me or to each other.

I'd tell them; "Oopsies, I think you just hurt her feelings." They'd apologize.

You see, once you tell kids that you have high expectations of their behavior, they give you their best. I've heard nightmares from my student teaching friends about students refusing to leave the room when sent to the Principal's office, and well, to tell you the truth, I never had to send a kid to the Principal's office.

One of my adult friends said, "I bet they really can pull the wool over your eyes."

And I said, "Yeah, but that's o.k. with me. I don't need to know their dirty little secrets. I don't need to know how nasty they were in gym class. In my room, they're all little darlings who sometimes make mistakes. Big deal. Sometimes, I was a nasty little snot in gym class too. Kids need someone who sees the best in them. I want to see the best in them, so I do."

I'm a little on the dreamy side. I'm a new teacher. I'm a little naive. That's just fine with me.