Assignment #3: Alex

My candy of choice: Life Savers Gummy Sours.

1: BEFORE

I'm a teacher's assistant for 1st and 2nd grade.

I wake up at 6:00am wishing I could stay in bed. I force myself out, shower, get dressed, brush my teeth, pack my lunch, and off to school I go (for the 22nd year) at 7:00am. School starts at 8am so I'm rushing around, prepping my materials, waiting to use the printer, talking to my principal, gathering breakfast in the lunchroom, and somehow finding just enough time to grab a cup of coffee from the teacher's lounge.

The bell rings at 8:00am and the children come into class, each of them giving me a high five at the door. This will be the high point of my morning. We eat, sing, learn, do calendar math and writing workshop. But by 10:00am, mathematics time, the feeling kicks in. The crash. The fading. I look at the clock. Two hours to go until lunch. I remember thinking the same thing as a child, but now I'm on the other end of it. And mathematics is no time to crash!

As each minute goes by, I'm feeling more and more defeated. I'm in slow-motion. I write "5 + 4 = ?" on the board and give the children some time to use their blocks to find the answer. Ayisha yells out: "9! The answer's 9!" "Almost," I say. "The answer's 8." Many of the kids look at me puzzled. "Did anyone get 8?" I ask. The room is silent. "Mr. Small, I'm pretty sure it's 9," says Ronald, my student who scores 100% on each test. I look at the board. I look at Ronald and pretend that this was a game. "Yes! You guys are right! You passed the test! Time to do a one-minute party!" During a one-minute party, my students stand up, twirl around, and chant: "One minute party! One minute party!" I give them this one-minute party when they impress me. What my students don't know is that while I'm twirling around singing, "One minute party! One minute party!" I'm thinking to myself: I thought the answer to 5 + 4 was 8. Teacher: 0. Students: 1.

Needless to say, I need lunch. I need a pick-me-up and the time is now. I'm fading, and this is why I'm going to let you listen to "Fading" by Rihanna.

2: DURING

After my Lean Cuisine at lunch time, I turn to Life Savers Gummy Sours for a mid-day makeover. And you better believe I have them in my drawer in my desk. Lots and lots of bags of candy that I treat my students with every once in a while--(thanks Wal-Mart for the cheap prices on bulk candy!)

Usually, I like to share. But today, I need it all. I need the whole bag to myself to keep me going until 4:30pm. I peer around and see my colleagues on their computers, cutting out paper, laminating a poster. I quietly reach into my drawer and put the Life Saver Gummies next to my big stack of papers, hiding them from the rest of the room. I tap on my friend and colleague Tom's shoulder, signaling him to take a handful--but NOT to tell anyone! He will now serve as my lookout.

I look at the packaging. I see the color green and think of the perfect amount of sourness that Life Saver Gummy Sours contain. I close my eyes. I'm taken to Hawaii. I'm taken to the north shore of O'ahu, sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, watching the surfers and taking in the sun while munching on a big back of my favorite candy. The breeze is hitting me just right and my two friends are next to me. We're passing the bag around, enjoying the moment, when a huge Hawaiian man walks over and hovers over us. "CAN I HAVE ONE?" His voice booms. He looks at me strangely: "I SAID CAN I HAVE ONE?" I open my eyes. My principal is standing right next to me. "Mr. Small, I said can I have one?" Uh-oh. "Yes, sorry Mrs. Scott. I was imagining how we're going to do Friday celebration this week. I think I have something good." Phew! Mrs. Scott replies, "Great. Just e-mail me with the details," and with this, she takes a giant handful of the candy.

I put my headphones in and listen to some music to wake me up and to get me ready for the next 5 hours of my day. I want something loud but not abrasive; exciting but not annoying; something fresh and electronic that reminds me of Hawaii and being on the beach. Something to complement the taste of Life Saver Gummy Sours. I choose Stars 4-Ever by Robyn:

I'm listening to the music and eating the gummies, one by one, chewing and tasting the sourness, dancing in my chair and a feeling of happiness takes over my body. The sourness slowly wakes me up and makes me once again feel ALIVE and ready to finish this day off on a good note not only for myself, but for my students! I see my colleague Jeanine eating Skittles, whom I can't imagine is having the sensory experience I am having; I witness James eating a Milky Way, standing up, and walking in slow motion, as if the Milky way is weighing him down; and Rebecca is eating Twizzler's with a bored look on her face.

The song finishes playing, and the bell rings. I'm ready for the rest of the day.


3: AFTER

I walk to get my students from the cafeteria with a smile on my face. "Mr. Small, what's going on? Why are you so happy?" Cherice asks. "Because I'm ready for the rest of the day!" I say, smiling, knowing that Life Saver Gummy Sours have given me the boost I needed to get through the rest of the day,


I go about the next 5 hours feeling refreshed, lighter, and more aware. With this boost of euphoria from my lunch-break indulgence, I'm able to get through the rest of my day quite easily. I still have a sweet taste in my mouth and memories of Hawaii floating in my head. Shared Reading is a breeze, as is our second recess. 


In a song, I'd have to say after eating Life Saver Gummy Sours, I feel like the song "Blind My Mind" by Flunk. I feel like that because it's light, soft, free, and beautiful.

As a new teacher, I recently learned the most important rule of teaching: NEVER buy candy for your students THAT YOU LIKE or you WILL eat all of it. However -- Life Saver Gummy Sours will be the only exception because in order to get through a twelve-hour day with screaming children, we all need SOMETHING to get through.

***Names changed to ensure confidentiality!