Originally published in TEACH Magazine, September/October 2024 Issue
By Megan Harding
“Teacher, can you tie my shoe?” inquires a five-year-old as she jabs you repeatedly with her pointer finger, indicating that she desperately needs your attention. Later, after a different five-year-old has been in the bathroom for several minutes, you call out to her and ask, “Sweetie, are you having tummy troubles?” Her response: “No, I’m having bottom problems!” Later still, while listening to another kid tell a story about something that happened earlier in the day, you try not to laugh when they inadvertently mix up the term “took a spill” with “took a dump.”
If you can relate to any of these moments, you probably are, or have been, a primary teacher. And you are exhausted!
Megan Harding is in her 16th year of education. She resides in Central Oregon with her family and when she isn’t teaching or planning school activities, she can be found spending time with family, reading, or playing board games.
