Goodnight Room…A Bedtime Story for Teachers

Dear Teacher,

I thought that you might enjoy a little bedtime story as the new school year begins.  Enjoy!

And as always, YOU ROCK!

Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Goodnight Room by Joseph Blizzard
Inspired by and parody of Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

In the pretty good, green classroom
(that would be better if there were
more than five minutes between meetings)

There was a station for phones
(that will no doubt need to be taken up…
perhaps spinner toys will fit there, too)

And a fidget stress-ball made from a balloon
(that is currently supposed to be for
students, but it may become Teacher’s)

And an interactive whiteboard presentation of-
(and made by the super-techie teammate after
Teacher spent hours trying to do it alone)

The cow jumping over the moon
(because, well, who doesn’t want to make the
cow jump over the moon?)

And there was a square of alternate seating chairs
(that the class roster showed will be needed
because of the many IEPs for ADHD)

And a poster of kittens
(with a growth-mindset reminder for all
in the class to just “hang in there”)

And a hidden place for a pair of mittens
(for when the district-mandated thermostat
setting requires their need in winter)

And picture of Teacher’s house
(so the students know Teacher doesn’t
live at school…and Teacher can remember
what it looks like on the long
afternoons of grades and conferences)

And a young mouse
(that administration swears will
be taken care of very soon)

And a comb and a brush
and a bowl and a packet of oatmeal mush
(for when there is no time in the
morning to look like a human and
eat a more human like breakfast
before Teacher leaves the house)

And a chair in the corner for when Teacher
is tired and stressed and just whispers “hush”
(which may be the end of the year, or halfway
through, or might just be next week)

Goodnight light
(that Teacher can finally turn off because
the work that should have been done when
there was meetings and is as done as it
is going to be before students come)

Goodnight stress-ball red balloon
(that Teacher is considering taking home
after spending afternoon and into the
night in the classroom)

Goodnight square of chairs
(that Teacher is trying not to think
about already moving around the room)

Goodnight alternate seating chairs
(that Teacher knows is going to cause
problems because there aren’t enough
for each and every student)

Goodnight “hang in there” kittens
(that Teacher will probably need
to heed the words of often)

Goodnight mittens
(that hopefully will not be needed
this year, but most definitely will be)

Goodnight clocks
(that Teacher put around the room so
maybe the students will learn time-management)

Goodnight socks
(that teacher turned into puppets because
of the strangest IEP ever seen)

Goodnight Teacher’s house
(that Teacher will soon see for the
very short time that Teacher will
be home before coming back in)

Goodnight mouse
(that Teacher hopes never to
have to see again)

Goodnight comb
Goodnight brush
(that Teacher will probably need
in the morning because it is already
so late right now)

Goodnight nobody
(that Teacher hopes is nobody after
hearing noises in the empty halls)

Goodnight packet of oatmeal mush
(that Teacher will also probably
need in the morning)

Goodnight to the chair where Teacher
will soon be whispering hush
(it will definitely be next week,
Teacher just doesn’t know yet)

Goodnight stars
(that Teacher got the crafty teammate
to make for the bulletin board)

Goodnight moon
(that was also made by the ever
crafty teammate for said board)

Goodnight air
(that will soon be filled with the
not-so-pleasant student smells soon)

Goodnight noises that will soon be everywhere
(that Teacher will be irritated with
but has also kind of missed this summer
because with all of the frustrations
Teacher still loves being a Teacher)