I'm Not Yo Mamma!

Inevitably at some point in the semester, I realize that a student or two are attempting to engage me in some sort of parent-child dynamic. I think that this stems from my being female, although I suspect that male teachers might encounter this type of behavior, as well. You know the kind of thing I'm talking about: the back-and-forth push-pull over assignments that students try to elicit from teachers. It is at a certain point when the familiarity of these situations sets in, and I recognize these as echoes of dealing with my teenagers not too many years back.

I usually can count on that built-in governor, that shrill sound inside my head that screams, "Nooooo! Not again!!" Last semester, I didn't know how to deal with it in a consistent way. I think they took me by surprise. This time 'round, I feel that I have a handle on it a little better, though I admit that their creativity knows no bounds, and they will search for yet another way to make me their mamma. It is then that I will remind them that they're someone else's little cherubs.