If I were the teacher, I’d be cool as a cucumber! I’d build a pool so we could get on a floaty and do math. I’d give plenty of breaks for fun and activities. I’d have math speed rounds with plenty of prizes like stuffed animals and toys. Our field trips would be around the globe while we collected snow globes. As you can tell, it would be a blast if I were your teacher mainly because we’d get to take a blast to the past! Well there you go. Maybe you should start thinking about going back to school! -Joshua, 11

If I were the teacher I would let students have recess all day because they deserve it in a way. The students get to choose what classes they do to art all day or surfing on a bay. I would fill the library shelves with comics and novels. Students get to choose what they get for lunch. PE is only games like every sport ever. But going to school at Grace is already great. -Henry, 10

If I were the teacher I would theme my room around animals. I would have a corner of my room dedicated to reading. There would be fun bean bag chairs, and the bookshelves would have different animals on them. The desks would be placed in the middle of the room, but slightly staggered so everyone could see. All of the desks would face the front wall which the smartboard would be on. I would have a selection of seats. My students would get to choose between chairs, wobbly stools, and chairs with bean bags on them. I would be a nice teacher, but I would make sure my students learned. -Emily, 10

If I were a teacher, I would go about, telling stories, of the great drought. History and animals would be my thing. I hope the kids would not think of it as boring. Whenever a holiday would come, I would hear a thrum, thrum, thrum. For across the hall, the music teacher was having a ball. The children would dance, sing, and shout, hopefully they wouldn’t let the wild things out. Down the stairs, and through the door, the librarian was about to roar! She tore through the rows of books, and books, knocking down piles, wherever she looked! It was my duty, I realized, to make this school what I often saw idolized. The horror was climbing quicker than I had thought. I looked at the book that I had brought. An idea struck me, and I threw it down, down, down. I was able to tuck my hands over my ears, as the scene revealed nicer than it had appeared. The ball continued, the students not bored, and the librarian back, with her hoard. -Heather, 10

If I were the teacher I would make the desks as low as they could go, but I wouldn’t want to sit on the floor or a board, so I’d make them higher so I don’t get fired. Let’s hope my students don’t get tired. If I were the teacher I would make the class neater, so I’d add a heater! -Mikey, 10

If I were the teacher, Support would flow out of me like a river If I were the teacher, My job would bring me all the joy in the world If I were the teacher, My love for my students would be more numerous than the stars in the sky If I were the teacher, I would treat all students and people equally If I were the teacher, I would help my students be themselves and not force them to be someone they were not But I’m not the teacher, and I cannot control, How my teacher treats me and the world Yet I hope the perfect teacher will emerge like the sun on a rainy day, And create a rainbow of happiness -Caroline, 10

If I were the teacher we would have a bunny for a class pet. I would also let the students have stuffed animals on their desks. I would have a huge corner with bean bag chairs and a wall full of books. Every day a dog would run around the room and the kids would play with it. Everyday we would move all the desks to the side so we could watch a movie. And homework would be playing with a new toy they got that day. They can

wear whatever they want including pajamas. There would be toys and games everywhere for them to play with. You can also bring toys, blankets, pillows and stuffed animals. There would still be nap time and show and tell. There is a wall of books and a robotics wall which makes it look like we are doing work. And finally the day would end with them getting toys, cookies, brownies and candy to take home. The students would love it. -Erin, 10

Poets A pencil in hand A blowing fan The mid-autumn heat The rushing feet All to my classroom Where knowledge is shared In the classroom, where I the teacher stand Plants on a shelf Potted by soil Graphite on paper Gray shaded landscapes A clicking keyboard A quick foreword A lecture by me Where the linguistic poet stands -Maddie, 10

The writers are fifth grade students at Grace Episcopal School.