Yes, Just One Person

Tonight I went to Borrone's to get some food, read the paper, attempt the crossword puzzles, and listen to the jazz quintet that plays each Friday. When I got there, all the tables were completely full. It was 5 minutes before I could get a stool at the bar, where I kept an eye on the tables so I could sit and spread out the paper. As soon as I saw a couple start to clear out, I was up and next to the table. While they were gathering their things, a guy who was also at the bar, turned around to try to get the table. He asked me, "Are you really going to take that table?" (I guess he asked this because it was a table that could fit three people, he was part of a couple, and I was only one.) Of course, I said, "Yes, I am." Then he turned to his female companion and I heard him say, "One person is going to take that table." I didn't say anything, because it didn't really matter, but I almost wanted to turn to him and say, "I wish I had someone to dine with me, but I don't. Just because I'm single, doesn't mean I should automatically be shafted. In fact, I'd much rather be sitting with someone in bar stools than alone but more comfortable."

I know he didn't mean anything against me personally, but sometimes I'm just done. Maybe it's the rash of engagements of people I know (that I've had to find out about over the Internet). You know when it's just the last straw? But then again, I did have a blast at girls' night hosted by my friend EF, who is 5 years older than me, single, and awesome, followed by a sleepover with my friend P-squared who "enhanced" my hair the other day and always, always makes me feel like a million bucks. Yes, we are hoping to find EF a husband, but she has the confidence that I always want to have with life and boys. Note to me: spend more time with the girls.

The interaction tonight reminded me of a guy who was in a math teacher's workshop with me the other day. We were looking at student work, which included a written explanation by a student about why they chose the multiple choice answer. The student did the problem correctly and did a good job explaining, except for some misuse of words. In our small group, we started talking about how we would handle those incorrect words and this male teacher said, "Oh I don't care about that. I'm not an English teacher." My response (envision me trying to flip out but stay professional) was something along the lines of: "Oh, what language do you teach in?" I've reached my tipping point on some things and the slightest thing tips me off (like being single and people treating me differently because of it). I'm just so tired of being labeled as a math teacher who 1) is asked to do all the adding in meetings as if we're the only ones who know how, 2) apparently doesn't know anything about grammer, 3) is told how to write a haiku, and 4) is thought to not care about language. I could go on, but then I'd be ranting even more. I am a teacher. It just do happens that math is my strong suit. But honestly, I fantisize about teaching US History or English or Environmental Science. I do. When I sub for those classes, I work as hard to help students understand content and make sense of things as I am in my own classroom. I know not everyone is like this (I was a rare child who LOVED school like crazy all throughout), but how are we going to help our students love learning all subjects if some people devalue an entire subject that our schools deem important?

I'm carrying on. I know that I've got to stick to my principles and the more I can positively interact with people, the better we will co-exist. This single math teacher plans to spend all of her Saturday reading books. Yes, I can actually read. I can't wait!