Classroom BLESSings

There are moments in a teacher's career when you have to take time to smile and appreciate that kids truly do say the darndest things. Kids who speak English as a second language say even more darndest things.

For example: I teach an eccentric 2nd grade student named Bless. Yes, that is correct, he chose the word bless to be his English name. When I asked him if he went to church he responded with a resounding "YES!" Anyway, one day after I entered the classroom, Bless asked me "Teacher, are you twiterplated?" Confused by the term "twiterplated" I had to comb my library of English vocabulary for words that sound like this term. After a few seconds my brain retrieved the word "twiterpated," which I have found myself using a lot lately for all of my friends in new relationships.

According to UrbanDictionary.com, being twiterpated is "the state of having fallen in love, especially at first sight." ["Aw, look at him. He's twiterpated." Thumper from Bambi speaking about Bambi.]

I thought for a moment that this is one of the most obscure vocabulary words a second grade, low-level ESL student could possibly even know. Regardless of the way he came upon this word, he still deserved an answer. I responded with "No, I am not twiterplated. Bless are you twiterplated?" to which he replied with a discouraged "no." For a moment, me and this 7 year old Korean kid were in the same boat. For those of you still wondering where he came upon such a word, it should come as no surprise that this same class is watching Bambi with another teacher.

These are 3 girls from Bless's class. From left to right there is Betty (the one who is so scared she forgot the song), Jessica (the leader with the highest volume), and Sunny (the one who looks like she has had more fun watching paint dry). Their Korean teacher taught them this song and if you watch their hands closely, you will see they are saying "I Love You" in sign language. This, ladies and gentleman, is my life.