When I went back to teaching, this picture was one of the first things I hung up in my classroom. It was for my own pleasure, as well as the hope of exposing the Third Graders in my care to a wonderful American artist. Well, you know how kids are and I was a little disappointed to think they really weren't paying much attention to it. But I had underestimated some of them.
I'm not sure how they found out, but several of the students discovered when my birthday was that first year. On the actual day they managed to get help from a couple of their mothers in keeping me out of the classroom after lunch so they could set up a surprise. When I walked back in, there was complete silence, which was a little unusual for this group. As I gazed around it finally dawned on me - the kids had re-created as best they could the scene depicted in the painting!
One of the girls, Christin, had orchestrated the whole thing. She had several students write messages on the chalkboard wishing me a "Happy Birthday", similar to the writings in the painting. One boy proudly told me how he too was balancing a chalk eraser on his head, just like the boy wearing the red shirt. They tried to copy as many details as possible, right down to the two apples on my desk.
As I looked at each of their faces they were beaming with pride, not only for what they had done but that they had managed to surprise me. Their efforts touched me very deeply and it is a memory I treasure and recall every time I gaze at this print.
That was both the first and last time I celebrated my birthday with my students. I knew from my own experience that Class Mothers have more than enough to do without having to celebrate the teacher's birthday too!
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