Date a girl who teaches kids. Find her during the summertime decorating her classroom, looking for the best slogans in the internet to post on the walls of her classroom, or better yet, making up her own lines.

            You will find her in the bookstore in the children’s section looking for storybooks she can read to her students. No, she is not the one wearing the biggest eye glasses and she does not own a pointer stick. That’s just in cartoons. She is the other one wearing the most colourful outfit in the store. She is the one wearing the biggest smile in the aisle. Yes, she’s pretty.

            Visit her in the faculty room and look for her desk, that one with the stacks of paper and glitters, bottles of glue, and construction paper on the side. The one with the “I love you, teacher” cards posted on her cork board. Look for her name on the classroom door. Which class does she handle? How many kids? How many classes? Ask her if she needs help with her instructional materials. Surely she will say yes. Ask her if she’s done with her lesson plans for the week. Study her plan and look how intricate it is. Then schedule a class observation from the school and tell them it’s for your MA class or thesis. Watch her class as she sings and dances with her students during circle time. You will fall in love as she goofs off with the kids, as she takes care of them, and watch her face as the smile vanishes after a long and tiring day in class. Bring her milk tea, chocolates, or a slice of cake on her lunch break to give her back the energy she needs for her afternoon class.

            Date a girl who teaches kids because she is patient. She understands and sees each individual’s uniqueness. Date a girl who teaches because she values simple things. She sees those that others overlook. Find a girl who teaches because she can take care of you. She will sing and dance in front of you even if she really can’t. She will give you surprises because she knows that everybody loves surprises. She is not an ordinary girl. She thinks outside the box because that’s how she gets her students’ attention and surely that’s how she will get yours.

            You should date a teacher because she is everything Ms. Minchin isn’t. Because she deserves to be cared for as to how she cares for her students. Because she deserves to be surprised as to how she surprises her students with the activities she planned for the day. Because she deserves to be sung and danced to as to how she sings and dances to her kids. Because she deserves to be loved as to how she loves her students so much.

            Treat her as a princess because she still believes in fairy tales and true love. Give her something from National Bookstore or Fully Booked on her birthday because she loves everything in there. Give her a notebook, a pen, colored papers, markers, or perhaps, just give her your love.

-Mim Talusan

9.5.12