The Yeller

Since before school was out, Matthew was worried about who his teacher would be for the coming year. He was so afraid he'd get "the yeller," as he refers to a certain teacher.

All summer we heard, "I hope I don't get the yeller. What if I get the yeller?" We turned this into a math lesson. There are five teachers in that grade. You have a 20% chance of getting the yeller and an 80% chance of getting someone else, at least one of whom would be new. From this, Matthew would reply, "What if the new teacher is a yeller?"

Well, today was bribe day at school. If parents turn all the forms in now, then the kids can learn who their teachers are a day early. So I spent 90 minutes last night filling out all the forms and writing checks totaling $82 (!) dollars, all for the joy of learning Matt's fate a day sooner.

In the cafeteria there's a big long line with lots of stations. You drop off forms at each station and you get a stamp on your checklist. When all your boxes are filled with stamps, you get in line for teacher reveal.

We passed the forms stations with flying colors and got in line for the big secret reveal. It's very funny, too, because the staff with the class lists will not let anyone look at the folders. They give you your teacher's name and send you on your way. We do not find out the whole class list until tomorrow.

After more waiting, we got to the front of the line. The staff member opens the class list folder just a peek and tells Matthew the name of his teacher.

It's not the yeller.

In fact, it's the best teacher in the grade in my opinion. Last year, Matthew went up to her and said he hoped to be in her class. Maybe that little bit of lobbying helped. Maybe it's a coincidence. Who knows.

At least she's not a yeller.