And actually, not because of this.

Here’s how I tried to pull off my little costume bit: I left the room before each period and went to our teachers’ lounge and change, waiting until after the bell starting class to make my entrance. To make sure that students fell somewhat in line in my absence, I left the following message on the board:

Please make sure you are in the room when I return.
Failure to do so will result in…bad things.

Respectfully,
Mr. B

But I have mischievous students who replaced bad things with a spanking. I chuckled and ignored it the first period it happened, erasing and rewriting the message.

And students did it again when I left for the next period. Again, I left it there, expecting to erase it at the end of class.

I resume my lesson from there, and partway through the period, our superintendent stops in to observe briefly, as he is wont to do sometimes (see here and here). I try, as I normally do, to continue as normal so that he doesn’t think that I am altering my teaching because he’s in the room just to maintain appearances. (I hope it works.) He goes to the back of the room, stopping (apparently) to look at the board. He leaves shortly thereafter.

When he leaves, a cluster of students erupt into a brief conversation. When I confront them, they point out the elephant in the room: I have forgotten to erase a spanking from the board.

Embarrassed doesn’t even begin to cover it.

I have sent an E-mail to explain myself somewhat, with no response yet. I doubt anything will come of it – oh dear God I hope not – but I am mortified.

The only consolation is that the day is now over, and I can – hopefully – put this behind me. Sheesh.

—–

Update (2/24) – Received the following re-assurance in an E-mail:

I could tell by the handwriting that it was some onery youngster. I am glad to see that you make the extra effort to keep class interesting. keep it up please.

Still not any less embarrassing, but now I can in fact put the whole fiasco behind me.