Chapter 18: All in a Day’s Work

2:05 p.m. on a sunny, late spring Friday afternoon. The temperature outside was 80 degrees, and inside my classroom it was almost as warm. The bank of windows that spanned one wall of my teaching space, which I love during the dark, rainy months, was a liability this time of year—the physical education students taking advantage of the amazing weather are always having more fun than we are!

This particular Friday, however, was the day that had been designated as the first day of state testing. After the students placed all of their binders and textbooks on the back tables and emptied their pockets of cell phones and calculators, they were finally settling in at their desks that had been newly arranged into rows for just this occasion. I had started the test session and just finished writing the session ID on the board when a student walked up and said, “Mrs. Anderson, I don’t feel good.” This was a statement I heard at least once a week and my standard response was, “Do you need to go to the office and call home?” Usually, they said “yes” and walked away. But this student, a quiet girl who rarely said anything, came closer and grabbed my arm hard. I looked into her face; she was as pale as a ghost, her lips white, and her dark eyes even darker than usual. As I stood looking at her, she leaned into me even more and I realized that she was on the verge of passing out. My mind raced—Did she have a medical condition that I had forgotten about? Was she having a seizure? —but with a classroom full of 12- and 13-year-olds, I knew it was my job to take control. I quickly snapped back to reality and sent one student to the office for help and asked another to come push my rolling chair closer as the student was leaning into me and was temporarily unable to see or move.