This was originally posted on http://www.yetthereismethod.net/
“There he is! There he is! Mr. Gels, Mr. Gels!”
I’d put my students on the bus some 15 minutes earlier, and I was walking back to my classroom after standing and talking with a co-worker. Now, it’s rarely a good thing when I hear my name echoing through the hallway, and it’s even more rare for it to be good when what looks like the entire after-school-day-care safety patrol contingent is the one doing the echoing.
“Mrs. M— is looking for you! Mrs. M— is looking for you!”
My assistant principal was looking for me. It’s with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek that I say this was quickly going from bad to worse. I ran through the usual list: I was supposed to be at an IEP meeting…nope. I’d missed a parent conference…nope. I’d said I’d take someone’s duty and forgot…possible, but duty should be over by now. I was lost, but I fell into formation behind them and made my way down the hall.
As I came into Mrs. M’s line of vision, I saw her break from a conversation and give me that look that says I’m glad to see you because there’s something that needs to be done. Okay, at least I didn’t forget anything (as I, ahem, sometimes do).
“There’s a truck here for you. You’ve got a bunch of cabbage plants. Get with the front desk and they’ll let you know where he’s at. We told him he had to leave because there wasn’t a available door during dismissal.” And just like that, she went back to her other conversation, apparently confident that I knew what she was talking about.
I did, but it certainly wasn’t an expected development in my afternoon. The Bonnie Plant Company has a program where they provide third grade students with a cabbage plant every year. It wasn’t something we’d done in a few years, but I was familiar enough with the program that I knew what to expect. As a quick aside, I love Bonnie’s brochure that comes with each plant; it shows a picture of a smiling kid with a ginormous cabbage plant (we’re talking beach ball-sized). The plants at our school rarely make it out the door alive.
Anyway, after making a big dent in my day’s step goal, I tracked down the plant guy as he pulled back into our parking lot after apparently delivering to another school. He was a great guy, new to this distribution route. Some small talk, a few trips in and out of the building carrying flats of cabbage, and a brief paperwork exchange saw him back on his way and me in possession of 144 cabbage plants ready to go home with students tomorrow.
Sauerkraut, anyone? Just give me a few months.
Yet There is Method 