Saturday, August 15, 2009

Small Town Life

Signs that I live in (and am from) a small town:
1. Yesterday, Jacob fell from the monkey bars at school and was taken to the nurse. Every step of the process of handling the situation points out what a small town we live in.
First of all, he fell while playing on the monkey bars with his friend, Blake, who he has been close friends with since Kindergarten. They were in Cub Scouts together, and Blake's dad was their Den Leader. Blake's mom is a 4th grade teacher at the school. I am the music teacher at the same school. Sooo - rather than getting a call on the phone, I was "buzzed" while in Natasha's classroom. Natasha is the computer teacher - and we were also in band together in High School. Her sister was in band with us and is a kindergarten teacher at our school. Their mother is a 5th grade teacher at our school. Their father was our principal when we were at "Middle Grades" years ago. But, I digress - back to Jacob's fall. So - I go to the nurse's office, and it is decided that I need to take him to get xrayed at the er. I check with the principal to Ok me leaving campus, and ask if it's ok if my mom covers my last two classes of the day. My mom is also a teacher at our school - teaching EIP (Early Intervention) to Kindergarteners and First Graders. She Ok's this, and I locate my mom, who agrees to cover my classes.
While in the hospital, Jacob is very friendly and well-behaved. . .after xray while we were waiting for results, there was a knock on the door, and in walks. . .Blake's DAD, who is in administration at the hospital, and had heard Jacob's name and wanted to check on him.
Jacob was and is fine. No breaks. By that evening, several friends from the school had called or texted to check on Jacob.

2. Like I said, I teach with several friends from high school. For the first time this year, I also teach at the same school as my mom. And my son. And my fifth grade teacher is at my school, too. Yesterday, I got an email from a different one of my former fifth grade teachers, who is now teaching music. She asked me for ideas and advice for her new job. I teach my friends' children, my former teacher's children, and my friends teach my child. And this year, I will be teaching my own child in the public school setting.

I love being in small town.
More to come. . .