Friday

“Coach Loe and I are unable to make open house tonight. We are at a football game in Grand Forks.” That is the note I left on my door last night to explain to the three or four parents who attend our annual “Open House” why I was not in my room.

Scrawled this was “What do we pay you for! Are you a teacher or a coach! A parent”

Now I assumed it was a joke by a fellow teacher. I figure since I teach English they were trying to throw me off by inserting exclamation points instead of question marks. However, I talked to members of my department and the coaching staff and they all say they aren’t responsible. So it leads me to wonder if it is legit.

If it is legit, I would like to say this to the parent who was gutless enough to neither sign his/her name nor to email me with any more commentary - I thank you for being one of the few who actually attend the open house, but you pay me to be BOTH a teacher and a coach. You pay me A LOT more to be a teacher. But attending a game is something that is out of my control. I am a teacher FIRST. Always have been. But it is truly one of my joys to be able to coach and see the kids, maybe even one of your kids, outside of the classroom. Furthermore, please know how to correctly punctuate your messages when you leave them, especially when you leave them with an ENGLISH teacher. And please have the guts to sign your name instead of being a coward.