Having Fun at Work

The best part of teaching is playing games with the students. I love it when a class has a running joke with me, or even when a kid has a running joke with me. It makes the day more cheerful if we can have a little fun.

My 8th period class is one example. At some point, I told them that I thought David Archuleta was cute. Of course, they ran with this. Things have progressed so that now David and I have been dating, engaged, and through a break-up. They add to the story almost daily. I pretend to be annoyed, but I actually think it is rather funny.

Fifth period always tries to outsmart me with some kind of word play. This is my pre-AP class, and they are stretching their mental muscle. Since I've got a few years on them, it's hard for them to catch me, but occasionally one of them does. Then that student is happy for the rest of the period.

One of my favorite games to play is "pretend mad." This is what I do when they are not getting something that I've been teaching for days. I also pull this trick out when they are doing something that's slightly annoying, but not bad enough to get really mad. To be "pretend mad," I put on my actor's hat and get loud and over-dramatic with my hand and arm movements. Basically I gripe them out with a smile on my face. It's similar to how I act when I'm really mad, but they can always tell the difference.

Maybe I complain a lot about my job (and it is difficult), but I do have fun at work as much as I can!