Classroom Zoo #28 - Tears

A new school year equals new adventure. New students. New families. New. . . tears. Being a kindergarten teacher, I expected tears. However, tears show up across the grade levels. In fact, I dealt with more tears on my 4th grade days. Bullies. Missing reading logs. Forgotten lunches. The joy (and pain) of being a teacher is simple. Teaching is just a small snippet of the job's responsibilities. Nurse. Therapist. Referee. These three other tasks tie in directly to the tears we deal with on a daily basis. There's always a need for a bandage or ice pack due to clumsiness or carelessness., so teachers have their nursing outfit at the ready. Words and rumors are exchanged among students that constantly require adult  intervention, attention, encouragement, or affection If only we had a proper couch to hear out all the children;s troubles. Squabbles about gameplay, materials, or just about anything else require teachers to don the referee uniform and be the arbitrator in the case. No matter what "job" the teacher is doing, rest assured there have been tears or will be some in the near future. It's an inevitable occurrence. Luckily, tissues are on the beginning of the school year supply lists.