April Fools is one of those "holidays" most people might completely miss and only realize after the day has passed that it was not observed. Not a middle school teacher, though. This was almost as disruptive as the last day of school. My students were chatty and distracted and the jokes, tricks, and just plain meanness was constant throughout the day.
Not all my students used this as an excuse to pick on others; some were creative and clever with their tricks. One student walked by with his arm in a sling and being the caring teacher I try to be, I asked him with great concern in my voice, what had happened. After the outburst of laughter that erupted around us, I realized I was the butt of a pretty good April fools.
Another student approached me with a signed note from his parents. It indicated that he'd injured himself at track practice the night before and needed to be excused from all assignments. Well, after I took the bait and asked him how he'd hurt himself (a shotput gone awry- should have figured it out then) he yelled, "April fools!" with a devilish grin across his face. Cute, cute- those I could handle. But then it got out of control.
"Mrs. Jaeger, I did my homework last night.... April fools!"
"Mrs. Jaeger, there's a man peeking in your window... April fools!"
"Mrs. Jaeger, you're the nicest teacher ever... April fools!"
(You get the idea and the exhaustion.)
After the millions of jabs in "good fun," and the tricks I saw students play on one another, which in my opinion seemed more mean spirited than fun, I am officially boycotting April Fool's day from my classroom. I like fun just as much as the next person but not at the expense of another. Oh, middle school, you make these students SO difficult at times!
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