When I first started teaching, teacher salaries barely covered the bills. I guess that is one thing that hasn't changed much in the last thirty years. Since my husband was working on his Master of Public Administration degree at N.C. State after we first got married, I would always try to find a job during the summer to supplement our income.
One summer, I remember getting a job as the Art Director at a local day camp. The Nature Director was also a relatively new teacher who worked in the same school I did and asked if he could borrow my classroom terrarium to use for the summer. It was housed in an old aquarium and it really looked great. I had spent a lot of time and effort on it collecting various plants and I was very proud of it. He promised to treat it with care and return it to me in good condition.
One summer, I remember getting a job as the Art Director at a local day camp. The Nature Director was also a relatively new teacher who worked in the same school I did and asked if he could borrow my classroom terrarium to use for the summer. It was housed in an old aquarium and it really looked great. I had spent a lot of time and effort on it collecting various plants and I was very proud of it. He promised to treat it with care and return it to me in good condition.
Before I knew it, camp was over and it was time for another new school year to begin. I retreived my terrarium from the science director and took it back to school where it had a place of honor in my science center. My assistant at that time was a middle aged woman who was extremely overweight. She was also one of the sweetest, most child oriented people I had ever met. She was very efficient and dependable and I really enjoyed working with her.
One morning, as I was up at the board teaching math, my assistant was diligently watering the plants in the terrarium with her green plastic watering can. All of a sudden, she let out a blood curdling scream, threw her plastic watering can straight up in the air, and ran out the door screaming "snaaaaaaaaakeeeeeeeeeeeeee"!!! A few children unlucky enough to be sitting nearby got a second morning shower. Her screams immediately threw the children into a panic and they started screaming too. Once I had finally picked my jaw up off the floor, I calmed the children down and lined them up single file to herd them out the door. I found my assistant cowering outside in the hall. She started waving her arms frantically saying that there was a snake in the terrarium and that she was terrified of snakes. Sure enough, when I went back in the classroom and looked, a baby snake was meandering around the plants spitting its baby tongue out at me. It turns out that my dingy nature friend had kept snakes in my terrarium during camp unbeknown to me. Not only did he forget to mention that minor little detail, one of them laid some eggs. It seems that one had hatched over the long labor day weekend and my assistant saw it poke its little head up at her when she stuck her hand in to water the plants.
I pushed the intercom button to ask for the custodian to come and help me asap. He was built like a lumberjack and I figured he could take care of the problem pronto. When he arrived and heard what had happened, he got a funny look on his face. He went into the classroom carrying a broom slowly easing his way up to the terrarium in a crouched position. I am still not sure what exactly he planned to do with the broom but whatever it was, it went the way of the watering can. as soon as he saw the snake. I thought my assistant had run fast but when the he got a look at the snake, he threw the broom to the side and took off running too. He evidently was as scared of snakes as she was. I ended up having to pick up the terrarium and take it outside to dump everything out of it. I figured it wouldn't be worth taking a chance on any more little friends popping up unexpectedly. Besides, I wanted my assistant to keep working with me and she said it was either her or the terrarium. I didn't have to think twice about that!
The picture below was taken that summer when we had an "art show" for the parents at camp at the end of the six weeks. Little did I know what would be coming back to school with me in the fall.
Epilogue: I think my nature director finished a new terrarium for me around November. You didn't think I was going to let him get by without replacing it, did you? See what you are missing by not teaching kindergarten!
The picture below was taken that summer when we had an "art show" for the parents at camp at the end of the six weeks. Little did I know what would be coming back to school with me in the fall.
Epilogue: I think my nature director finished a new terrarium for me around November. You didn't think I was going to let him get by without replacing it, did you? See what you are missing by not teaching kindergarten!
