April 1st! This day brings mixed feelings for me. On one hand I am thrilled with the arrival of April and the promise of warmer, longer and brighter days ahead. On the other hand it is April Fools Day. A day when people pull pranks on each other and tell enormous tall tales only to end them with, "APRIL FOOL!". I won't sugarcoat it. I'll just come out and say it... What a DUMB custom! I know there is some historic background to the tradition of April Fools Day, but honestly, it's not important to me. Another thing I dislike about April Fools Day is how it affects the daily operations of my classroom. Believe it or not, I am all business in the classroom. I don't tolerate monkey business. On April Fools Day many of the students think it's a good idea to play some sort of trick on me or other students or feel compelled to participate in the ridiculous nature of the day. It's actually quite a disruption... and if you know teachers, we don't like our day to be disrupted. We have a job to do and we get annoyed with anything that gets in the way.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not some sort of prude who is opposed to anything fun. Quite the contrary. I love having fun and even like to make my classroom fun for the students. However, the fun must fit within the boundaries of my classroom structure and routine. Pointless April Fools Day jokes and tricks do not fit into that structure. They have no place in my classroom and only serve to derail my instruction. I take my job very seriously and will always fiercely defend my instructional time and classroom routine.
I'm no fool!
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