There are a lot of teachers in my family, and I’ve figured that I must have teacher genes since I’ve always enjoyed teaching. I’ve taught lessons in high school classes, in college courses, and at national conferences. I’ve taught lessons to district attorneys, to police officers, business owners and lawyers. No problem. Then one year I volunteered to help in Jack’s third grade classroom with a science lesson …

The kids were great, but make no mistake-I was being evaluated. I kept hearing waves of voices-“it’s Jack’s dad” and “he’s a lawyer” and they kept staring at me with serious looks on their faces. Finally, with Jack vouching for me (thanks Jack) and a few semi-witty comments, I think I finally broke through and was able to gain acceptance, or at least tolerance, and then mercy came in the form of recess and I got the heck out of there.

So, what is my takeaway from this? Give me courtrooms, judges and juries any day of the week, but I’m afraid my Kryptonite may be working with a group of elementary school kids! My hat is always off to teachers in general, and here is an additional shout out to elementary schools teachers-thank you for doing what you do!