Grandma Teacher?

I was teaching my Playground 5 class the other day and one of the students called me Grandma Teacher. This class is only 10 students and they are all about 10-11 years old. They are not my smartest class but they know how to have fun. Terry called me Grandma Teacher and my ears perked up right away because most of the kids only call me teacher. (This is more respectful then calling me Holly Teacher.) I thought I could not have possibly heard him right so I asked him what he said. He didn't want to tell me but of course the other nine students in the class ratted him out in no time. I said "GRANDMA TEACHER!?!?! Why?" "Is it because I am old?" This of course sent the whole class into squeals of laughter. It took me about five minutes to get to the bottom of it.

Leslie was finally able to tell me that my name, Holly, sounds like the word for Grandma. Except it totally doesn't. The word for Grandma sounds like Her-mi-onie. Holly sounds nothing like Her-mi-onie to my Midwestern ears....hmmmm....but apparently to them they sound exactly the same. So my name in my Playground 5 class is now Grandma teacher and I have decided to embrace it fully...I am thinking about dying my hair white, wearing my glasses, and using a cane....That might get some laughs...it might also confuse the heck out of the kids.

This is the same class that thinks it is hysterical to say Heba Teacher to me every time they pass me in the hall. This means Hello, Bye Bye, Teacher...I would love to be part of the thought processes that make up these statements. The first time I heard Heba teacher I stared at them in slight horror because I thought they were saying Hubba Hubba...Sometimes it takes me a little while to understand them. The crazy thing is that you would think they would slowly die out...they don't. These kids hold onto these little sayings for ever. It makes life very entertaining they always crack me up...oh dear.

Grandma Teacher