From the mouths of babes. . .

I stole the survey from a friend's Facebook page. She asked her five year old the same questions. I decided to turn it into a morning assignment at school last week. The answers come from a class of 19 third-graders. How they view me is, at times, eye-opening.

1. What is something Miss Montoya always says to you?
"Brainiac, Fart-smeller, Correctamundo" ('fart-smeller' came from my father, instead of 'smart feller')

2. What makes Miss Montoya happy?
"When we are all being quiet" (this was a common answer--they know me all too well)

3. What makes Miss Montoya sad?
"When Yadira is gone" (true. . .she moved before any of us had a chance to say 'good-bye')

4. How does Miss Montoya make you laugh?
"When she makes a mistake" (thanks, kid)

5. What did Miss Montoya like to do as a child?
"Play outside" (no Wii, Xbox, or Nintendos back then--shocking!)

6. How old is Miss Montoya?
"Somewhere between 21-51" (must be the 'man hands')

7. How tall is Miss Montoya?
"Somewhere between 2 yards-10 feet" (guess I need to revisit the measurement unit)

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
"She likes to watch OPRA" (not really, but I like the way she spelled it)

9. What does Miss Montoya do when you're not around?
"She marks you apsent" (sic) (that's one way to look at it)

10. If Miss Montoya becomes famous, what will it be for?
"Being a great teacher" (of course)

11. What is Miss Montoya really good at?
"Teaching" (go figure)

12. What is Miss Montoya not very good at?
"Remembering" (hey, I'm nearly "51", what do you expect)

13. What does Miss Montoya do for her job?
"Third grade teacher" (that was very specific, good job)

14. What is Miss Montoya's favorite food?
"Sushi and spaghetti" (though not at the same time)

15. What makes Miss Montoya proud of you?
"To never give up" (really, nothing does make me prouder)

16. If Miss Montoya were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"Miss Puff" (apparently I don't watch enough Sponge Bob to know who that is)

17. What kinds of things do you work on with Miss Montoya?
"A lot of math" (apparently not enough if we're having "age/height" issues)

18. How are you and Miss Montoya the same?
"We go to the same church" (must have been the Pastor's son)

19. How are you and Miss Montoya different?
"Miss Montoya's smarter" (A+ for that kid)

20. How do you know Miss Montoya likes you?
"Because she likes everybody" (for the most part, my dear, for the most part)