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Dismissal Dance Party

I laugh all day long, it seems.  I am fortunate enough to be able to find humor in most situations.  I try to use humor effectively to keep the learning lively and memorable.

But there are some moments that stand out from others as just plain hilarious.  For me, many of these came this summer when I was directing the summer program at my school.  It gave me the opportunity to interact with younger kids - who are funny in ways that are so different from the teenagers who fill my typical school days.

This summer, I learned from one kid that the movie "Frozen" should have been called "Puke Yodeling."  And another told me that he had super powers which exempted him from learning to read.  A third student taught me how to herd dragons and how to tell the good ones apart from the mean ones.

But the funniest moment of summer school came on the penultimate day.  The students had lobbied for a Dismissal Dance Party and I had obliged.  Unfortunately, the DJ's mom picked him up a few minutes early, prompting disappointment from the group.  Fortunately, another student bravely stepped in and said, "I can be the DJ, Tr. Nancy.  I have my iPad."

Our new DJ was among the shorter kids in summer school.  But his personality was large.  For his first selection, he played "Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys.  The other Dismissal Dancers (including me) were a little shocked - expecting something contemporary, at least.  But we all came around and were singing "Intergalactic planetary" by the end.  For his final selection (dismissal is mercifully brief) our DJ announced he was going to play his all-time favorite song.

I wish I had taken pictures of the looks on the faces of the Dismissal Dancers when they heard Johnny Horton's "Sink the Bismark."  The confusion was palpable and no one really "danced."  The buses and moms all arrived to gather their bewildered children.  I thanked the DJ for his service and went inside to laugh my head off.




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