“Ms. Classe, my fish sticks taste too much like real fish, so I don’t really like them.”

This is what one of my kids said to me the other day while I was on lunch duty. I didn’t know what to do other than give her a blank stare and tell her to go eat the cookie and carrot sticks that were still sitting on her tray.

It was cheeseburger and hamburger day at lunch, almost everyone’s favorite day. However, this particular student did not exactly care for either of those options.

For some reason, she decided that today would be the day to try fish sticks. Why? I have absolutely no clue. When she finally decided she did not like them, she felt like I should be the first to know.

Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing about the kids’ lives, that’s one of the fun parts of teaching. Sometimes though, some of the details the kids share leave you a little baffled.

After only a year and two months of being in an elementary classroom, I have found that more often than not, teaching puts you in situations you aren’t prepared to handle until you are actually in them.

No matter how much training you have, there will always be those, “um…” moments. Sometimes, these “um…” moments can turn out to be some of the best stories.