I have been awake this Saturday morning since 6 a.m. I don't know why. I'm just awake.
I'm pretty sure my body is slowly reverting back to U.S. time because I doze off almost everyday in class around 3 or 4. This is possible because I teach "listening comprehension," which means I put in a tape and am allowed to stop working for a few minutes.
Though I sit just across the mini-table from them, mere inches from their faces, I have developed several techniques to make my nap time virtually invisible to the average first grader. Squatting in a pink plastic chair made for 3 year-olds with my knees next to my shoulders, I hide my face with my hands or a workbook. I am shaken from my state of nocturnal bliss only when the tape stops and their chattering starts.
Some days, I lean my head against the wall and openly nap, prompting the children to trill, "Whhhyyyyyyyy? Teacher, whyyyyyy?" I dismiss their questions by muttering things like, "I'm not asleep. I'm just resting my eyes," or "I'm still watching you," and even though my eyes are completely closed and my language is lazy and slurred, they believe me.
Nap time is made easy with the second graders with whom I have a good report. Though particularly unforgivable, I am allowed to announce, "I am taking a nap, but you follow along and listen to the story because I'm going to wake up and ask you questions about it," as I lay my head on the desk. If they ever start talking, my favorite students shush the class and tell the others I am trying to sleep. In return for the favor I allow each of them to fall asleep undisturbed once a month.
