When we first learned that my 10 year old got placed into Mrs. U’s 5th grade class at the beginning of the school year, I felt a bit queasy. I didn’t know exactly what was wrong with her, but evidently she earned herself the reputation of being a mean teacher, a really MEAN teacher. Kids and even some parents wanted to stay clear of her classroom. Mrs. U….even the name promised terror.

Mrs. U. is very loud. Her speech is clear and direct. These are natural qualities of a good teacher. I noted to myself as I sat staring at her during the school’s Back to School night for the parents. Mrs. U. is a sturdy and healthy looking mid-aged woman. She has strong lips, striking transcending blue eyes , thick arched eye brows, and shoulder length dark brown curly hair with a fussy outline. She even has the kind of look that promised terror. Except when she laughed–her thundering laughter produced a calming effect on me that night. I left her classroom feeling that my 10 year old will survive 5th grade.

Mrs. U. is ruthless! She is ruthless when it comes to her classroom rules, high expectations, and particularly, her grading standards. Ouch!! After a few bruises and trauma, my 10 year old is learning to tread in her classroom a lot more diligently than in the previous grades.

Despite her semi-deserving reputation, Mrs. U. is good at teaching. She is a passionate and caring teacher, who sometimes get carried away, and will yell at kids displaying dumb behavior. And underneath that mean facade, deep, deep down, she does have a soft spot for her hard working students. I also discovered that she has a great sense of humor. I like funny people, I like Mrs. U. That’s– until last Friday.

I picked up my two children from school on Friday afternoon, and immediately, my 10 year old reached to my ear and whispered: “I have a secret to tell you!”.

“Oh, what’s the secret?” me

“Tell you in the car.” 10-year-old.

As soon as the doors shut, my 10 year old told me that Mrs. U. broke the school rule, and brought home-baked cookies and brownies to the class for a surprise party. Apparently, Mrs. U. is ruthless when it comes to her own rules, but disregards other people’s rules. And she is expecting a classroom full of 10 year olds to keep this a secret for her.

My 10 year old went on and on about what a great baker Mrs. U. is. Particularly her brownies, they were made from scratch, they were the yummiest brownies my 10 year old ever had. I felt slighted. I baked yummy brownies for my children.

“All the cookies she made were so good…oh! did I mention she didn’t buy the box mix, she made her own brownie mix! That’s why they are so, so, so delicious…..”, the child’s random and rapid praises circulated in the car.

I decided to interrupt this fanfare by evoking my special mommy privileges with this foolish question, “Are HER brownies better than the ones I baked for you?”

And I got SLAPPED with, “When did you make us brownies?”

Ungrateful child!…. then my thoughts grew horns, as I pondered the idea of reporting Mrs. U. to our school principal.