Breakfast in the Classroom by Tim Ramsey All of the kids at my school receive a free breakfast every morning. Its not much but, for some kids, it is the only thing they have to eat before beginning a morning of work. Food is delivered to the classroom in a large Rubbermaid container by the cafeteria employees about 20 minutes before the first bell. I then place an entree, a juice and a milk on each desk and wait for the schools gates to be opened. On Monday, I arrived to my classroom early. I passed out the morning bell work and straightened desks. A disturbing odor was emanating from the south side of the room, but I could not locate its source. The big blue box arrived, and I distributed food items to each desk. The stench continued to rise into the classroom air. I searched for dead animals but found none. The first few kids showed up at 7:50 and went to their desks. Suddenly, Abby shrieked, Gross! Look what is in Dereks desk! I hurried to the desk and suddenly knew I had found the odoriferous offender! Derek had left two unopened cartons of chocolate milk in his desk. Over the weekend, the containers expanded in the warm classroom and exploded. Milk drained from each carton all weekend soaking books, papers, and pencils. Now, the entire brown river reeked of spoiled milk. I am not touching this desk! I declared. Derek can cart this outside and scrub it clean when he gets here. I marched back to my desk, stifling the urge to vomit and began taking attendance. On my way, I exclaimed, Absolutely NO food goes in your desks...NONE! Does everyone understand? Everyone shook their heads up and down and obediently carried their empty cartons and packages to the trash can. But, of course, Derek never showed up. Of course, he was absent. Of course, I had to retract my earlier proclamation and carry the desk outside myself. Dereks mother called the school later in the day and her call was placed to my classroom. Can you check my sons desk for his fundraiser paper, please? she asked. I told her that, even if it was there, the paper was now part of a murky, muddy mess. After a short explanation, she replied, But he doesnt even drink milk... After school, I mustered enough courage to empty the mushy contents into the garbage and then scrub the desk and ruined textbooks with super-strength Pine-Sol. I left it out on the sidewalk to further air out. Then I scrubbed my hands...twice. Copyright, Tim Ramsey
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 02:33:43 +0000
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