“Why does it smell like onions?” A ninth grader interrupts my demonstration, and I’m back in first-year-teacher hell. Education courses didn’t prepare me for the Freshman Who Still Hasn’t Discovered Deodorant. I scan my demonstration table and discover a small pile of onions. “Please throw the onions in the bathroom garbage. Not in here. I don’t want this room to smell any worse.” He pulls a Ziploc bag out of his pocket, puts the onions in the bag, and puts the bag back in his pocket. “I’m not throwing these out. They’re going on my burger at lunch.”
Stephanie Lawson is an art teacher in Rochester, New York. She loves running, sushi, and the smell of new school supplies. Find Stephanie online at stephlawson.com.