I feel I need to clarify yesterday’s post for Peggy’s sake. When I say ‘Teacher Neutral’, it is the pleasant face that I try to have on at all times so no one will see the rage bubbling just underneath the surface. I am ticked off All. The. Time. I am ticked off when kids are mean, when they whine, when they break my stuff, when they mess with the Velcro on their shoes All Through The Story despite my giving them The Look several times, when other staff do things (unknowingly) that make my job much, much harder, when things go wrong, when I get sneezed on, when I have said something for the bazillionth time in my teaching career with the knowledge that I will say it one bazillion times more and that it will Never Change because these children will grow up and leave me and new sneezy breakers will come through my doors.
Pleasant Smile.
What I want to talk about is my least favorite face: my Beach Face. [Sidebar, if you aren’t reading Kris’ blog, you should. ‘Beach’ is code for a rhyming word. The rhyming word is a synonym for a mama dog. Are you with me now? Do you want me just to type it?]
When I am encountered with an idea or statement that I need to process, my face immediately transforms into my beach face. It’s a slightly angry, annoyed look that I am completely aware that I’ve made…. a split second after I’ve made it. It drives me nuts. I’ve even apologized to people and explained that it’s my default face in that situation. It does not mean that I’m angry, I’m just cursed with a terrible, terrible Thinking Face.
Trust me, if I were angry, I’d give you a Pleasant Smile.