My first reaction? I'm embarrassed to say it wasn't "congratulations - you've worked hard to get where you are and the kids will LOVE you." Nope, not that. Nor was it "Well, way to go! Your brilliance has shone through and now you're a full-fledged teacher." No, it wasn't that either. And it surely wasn't "WOW! Those kids are so LUCKY to have you as their new teacher!". Sadly, none of these were my first reaction.
Instead, my first thought was "well, at least those 3rd graders won't show up still drunk or reeking of booze the way my class did this morning." Seriously, out of 17 students at my 9 o'clock class four no-showed, seven were late, and six of those were either still drunk or so seriously hungover they could not sit up straight at their desks. And this is supposed to be "adult education."
Anyway, I DO wish Meredith great success as she embarks on her teaching career. She has worked long and hard to get her assignment and those kids ARE lucky to have her as their teacher. And lucky for her, there's no way her under-age drinkers could ever get served!
