More Avoidance

Well, this is the big weekend when I need to finish writing my report cards. The public school teachers are probably all frolicking and having fun at this moment, as they are refusing to do administrative duties. Meanwhile, I am forced to spend the day at my computer and come up with creative ways to avoid the whole thing. Until the last moment, that is. It's hard work being an effective procrastinator, I tell you!

So, I was actually doing some work, going through Social Studies work. (That's what we teachers must do in order to come up with deep and meaningful observations.) We studied Canada this past term and I asked my students some hard questions about our country, such as "Who lived in Canada before Europeans arrived?" (One little friend in a previous year said "Adam and Eve"... oh, the cuteness! And such confusion!)

I was deeply engrossed in checking work when I came upon one little friend's paper and the question, "Why do so many people live in the south of Canada?" Well, after countless class discussions about the complete unsuitability of the north for farming and the inhospitable climes way up there, I naively thought this would be a no-brainer. However, I was sadly deceived. The sweet child wrote this response: "I'm not sure but I think there are more statues, like the statue of Liberty."

Statues... Statues! Southern Canada is obviously teeming with them! And all this time I thought that it was all about the temperatures...

I clearly need to teach a lesson about New York City and its location.