Teacher's Folly

Today was awesome. I don't know why, but today turned out great.
I taught the 7a class first, and they were total angels. We got an entire aim in history done and they didn't even freak when I told them that their picture books were due Monday.
I didn't ask the principal when the books were due, I just made it up. I need to get this project over with. And so do the girls.
7b was a little more rowdy than 7a, but totally manageable. Such a relief.
R.S. wasn't back in school yet, and we're all wondering why. I heard that it's because her house is flying; they had all their siblings in from Israel for Yom Tov. I don't believe it because her sister was in school today and yesterday. But we're still not sure. My co said that if R.S. isn't in school by tomorrow, she'll ask the principal if she can call her.
We're all a little nervous about how things are going to turn out.
I had a small issue with my index cards today. M.R. gave me one that said, "Do you think I am right for splitting up from S.G.L.?"
I didn't hesitate to answer her. "You did what you had to do. In life everyone has to make some hard decisions. Not always will everyone agree with what you do. You have to do what you think is right."
Then, I got a note from S.G.L. It said, "M.R. and S.G.L. And one day M.R. comes to school and I realized that she left me. We were friends for 2 1/2 years already, and then she drops me. She doesn't look at or talk at me. She's so mean, because whoever she's friends with she drops them, we know for a fact because she was 5 girls' friends, C.O., G.S., me, E.S., R.H., guess what? She them all, now everyone knows that she drops everybody who she's friends with. So nobody will want to be her friend. Another thing she did to me; after she left me she told me that I can't say any of her secrets. So I said fine, and I didn't. She promised me that she won't either say any of my secrets and she did. She told everything about me to a few people.
""Not only does she drop me, she's making me crazy. If she doesn't want to be my friend, she doesn't' t have to, but why does she have to act like that to me? Every time I look at her she stares at me.
"Now I have a big problem because of her leaving me. Because now I have to be on a waiting list for camp, because we made plans for the summer already to of together. Now we can't. So I'm left to go to camp and there's no room unless there are backouts."
That was her index card. Actually, it was 3 post-it notes.
I asked her if I could take time to answer it. She seemed thrilled with all the special attention, and didn't mind. She just gave me another note asking me not to tell M.R., M.R's mother, or her other. I was allowed to tell my family though. She seriously said that. LOL
I spoke to the principal and I told her that I didn't believe that M.R. was saying secrets about S.G.L. She was too good for that, and besides, she had no one to tell them to. The principal told me to talk to S.G.L. and find out where this was all coming from. It was normal for S.G.L. to feel that M.R. betrayed her, but she needed proof of whom M.R. told. Otherwise, she shouldn't be telling this all to me.
I also told her about her camp situation. I found out that she was trying to go to a certain camp, and I asked the principal to make a phone call to get her in. She needs it badly.
My co and I just figured out that S.G.L. is beginning to tag on to me because of her new friendship with C.O., who was my neighbor. C.O. and my fourth grade sister all of a sudden became the "best of friends." I wonder why.
C.O. is just trying to get close to me. What? These seventh graders really think they can fool us? C'mon.
Now that C.O. is all into me, and because of that, S.G.L. sort of let go of my co and is getting all into me too. My co is relieved and I'm ready to quit. I have to talk to S.G.L. but I have no idea what I'm going to tell her, and I really don't want to get involved in her messes.
Anyway, back to my title, I taught about methods of transportation during the 1800's today. One of the parts of my lesson involved Robert Fulton, the creator of the steam engine. When people had heard his idea for a steamboat, they thought he was crazy. His idea was called "Fulton's Folly." The word folly is very similar to my name, and I was dreading this lesson all year. I knew the girls would have something to laugh about as soon as I said the word folly.
I played it cool though. I laughed with them, and told the girls about how it was when I was a student and my classmates would always make fun of me even though my name didn't mean the same thing as folly and it wasn't even spelled the same way.
The girls got a kick out of it, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But at least I know that my students will never forget this lesson. They learned Fulton's Folly, they'll learn Seward's Folly, and they love their Teacher's Folly!