rustypants speaks

friday was the last day of school before christmas break and the kids, as you would expect, were antsy.

i lost track of the number of requests i received to “please, mr. rust, give us a free day today!” and the number of eyes they rolled when i replied, “wait… you’re getting SIXTEEN DAYS OFF SCHOOL and you want to come to school and get another?”

so motivation was an issue.

during my reading group, the first 20 minutes or so were quite lethargic and i knew i was going to have trouble actually starting a new lesson… but i had no choice. 55 minutes remained in my reading block and something had to be done. i told the class, “ok! find lesson nineteen in your reading books!” and was met with a very obnoxious chorus of wailing and protests. more begging ensued for a free day and my Biggest Whiner was taking it to a new level, threatening what little stability remained. we were reaching critical mass and i was starting to worry.

then i remembered that i still had a crate of cupcakes leftover from the previous days’ class christmas party. cupcakes that my kids didn’t know about.

without saying a thing, i nonchalantly strolled over to my closet, opened it and pulled out my crate of cupcakes. carrying it to the center of the class, i lowered it so all 17 of my reading students could see the brightly colored, icing laden, sugar-soaked goodies.

and Biggest Whiner, without taking his eyes off the cupcakes (or missing a beat), said: “suddenly i feel like reading, mr. rust!”

and as i laughed harder than i had in weeks, i thought, “oh, crap… where’m i gonna get a crate of cupcakes NEXT time?”

and i tell the truth here: my group spent 55 minutes busting their chops on that reading lesson. that, my friends, was the true icing on the cake.