Out of the Mouths of Babes

I interviewed today for a position as a substitute teacher. It's not my first choice for a job, but ... there are bills to be paid. Plus, I sometimes miss teaching. It'll be good to stand in front of a chalkboard again, at least for a little while.

While I was waiting, there were two little girls standing nearby. I think they were third or fourth graders. One girl was with her mom, and the other stopped by to visit. I think parent-teacher conferences were being held because I saw a few parents waiting around. Anyway, I didn't have anything to read, so I began to eavesdrop. Here's what I heard:

Little Girl A: "Do y'all have jobs in your class?"

Little Girl B: "No."

Little Girl A: "We do. We have a bunch of jobs. And they're fun too. We get to clean up the classroom, pass out the papers, wash the chalkboard ..."

Little Girl B: "Oh! Yeah, I got two jobs. How many you got?"

Little Girl A: *gesturing with her hand* "I got four jobs, girl." She really emphasized "four", and had this look which I took to mean: that's a whole lot of responsibility.

A few minutes later, Little Girl A, who has far more jobs than I, began to flip through a magazine. The cover had a picture of Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-MI. Her mother said: "That lady on the cover ... that's the mayor's mother."

Little Girl A: "Oh yeah ... what's his name again?"

Mom: "Kwame Kilpatrick."

Little Girl A: "Yeah, I didn't vote for him."