Thursdays are my favorite day of the week. Here’s why:

Last Thursday started off pretty horribly. My car has been having problems shifting, so I planned to take it to a garage this morning, which meant I had to get up earlier than usual. Despite waking up early, I walked out the door about five minutes later than I wanted to, after realizing that it was going to take me longer than expected to get to the garage, where I was meeting my coworker Richie. I told myself that it was fine, we’d still be able to make it to the school on time, but when I got down the hill to my car, I discovered it was frozen shut (hooray cold mornings). I couldn’t even get the key into the driver’s door, and even after I’d managed to unlock the sliding back door, I couldn’t get it open. I was pulling with all my weight on the door, but the only progress I’d made was some creaking that sounded like the handle was going to come off. Frustrated, I headed back up the hill to see if anyone in the house had any suggestions. My housemate Tim agreed to help me and while he went to grab his coat I tried again to get the back door open. This time, I succeeded and was able to crawl into the front seat to turn the car on and unlock the doors. Unfortunately, it took me another twenty minutes to clean off the windows to the point where I could see to drive. By then, I was very late, which meant that Richie was also going to be late , and I hate it when I make other people late.

I was also really intimidated by the task of taking my car to a garage. I had never even seen my dad talk with a mechanic, so I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say or what questions I was supposed to ask. Luckily, the man at the garage was incredibly nice, and I felt good about leaving my car with him. Richie was very understanding about my rough morning, so I was already feeling better by the time we pulled into the school (only 10 minutes late).

Teaching always manages to pull me out of whatever sad or tired mood I’m in. The 4th graders I teach are so excited to see Richie and I, and they’re always willing to participate in whatever activity or discussion we have planned. They also always have stories to share and I love being the person that they want to tell about their Christmas list or what happened on the bus. I’ve realized that there is a very special way of listening when you’re a teacher. When you ask a question, you have to be prepared for nearly any answer. Sometimes the kids are absolutely right, sometimes they’re on the right track, and sometimes you wonder if they even heard what you asked. The trick is, you can’t just say “no, that’s not right.” If you do that, they get discouraged from answering again, so instead, it is the job of a teacher to find some grain of the correct answer in whatever it is the child has thrown at you. The best example of this happened today, when Richie asked the class what it means to consume. One girl said. “It’s like when you’re hiding stuff… you know, so others can’t find it.” His response: “Well, not exactly… but it does have to do with stuff – you’re right there.” I love trying to find the correctness in seemingly completely wrong answers.

My day further improved when I went back to the garage to pick up my car. I was bracing myself for a very expensive repair bill, but the mechanic told me all he’d had to do was tighten a couple bolts, so I didn’t owe him anything. I was so happy and relieved that I nearly hugged him. I had been really afraid that the mechanic would take advantage of my complete lack of car knowledge, and instead he fixed my car without charging me.

My beautiful Christmas tree

So my day had completely turned around by the afternoon, when I found myself painting a giant Christmas tree outside one of the classrooms. The students had written poems on ornaments and the teacher asked me if I minded making the tree for her. I’m not particularly artistic, but I figured I could handle painting a tree. While I was painting, all the 4th graders had to walk by me to go to the gym. As they went past, almost every single one of them made some sort of comment about the tree. “Did you paint that yourself, Miss Erin? Cool!” “Miss Erin, that looks so pretty!” “Miss Erin, you’re such a good artist!” “Miss Erin, that looks really good!” Let me just tell you – if you ever want to feel good about yourself, do something slightly impressive in front of a group of 4th graders. One boy even asked me why I couldn’t be an all-the-time teacher.

And that is why I love Thursdays.

Erin C. is a long-term volunteer in Educational and Recreational Programming. She lives in the Jackson Volunteer Community.