A Parent said to me today:

Why didn’t you escort him back to his desk?

This type of question bugs me because it requires me to do something outside of my job requirements. And trust me, I know and understand that being a teacher requires so much more from us than to simply pass off information. It requires us to be adults, parents, examiners, practitioners, confidantes, police, comics, judge bailiff and jury, friends, fiends, uncles aunts sisters and brothers, neighbors, politicians, repairmen (and women), cooks, delivery people, janitors, drivers, aides, dancers, hosts, emcees, brethren, litigants, manufacturers, dumpster-divers, garbagemen, doctors, nurses, receptionists, lawyers, spokespeople, landscapers, architects, upholsterers, librarians, framers, directors and actors, and all the while function as unassuming commoners. But when it comes to being asked to do one of those jobs I get irate.

My simple answer was: I will not follow your son around the room. Because I will not accept that I am being asked to coddle or wipe.

The simple answer I got in return was a sigh.