The 500 Hats of
Bartholomew Cubbins
By: Dr. Seuss
Bartholomew Cubbins is a poor boy who lives in the Kingdom
of Didd. According to the laws of the kingdom, you must remove your hat when
King Derwin is near. As soon as little Bartholomew saw the chariot carrying
King Derwin he immediately removed his hat. To his surprise, every time he
removed his hat another one mysteriously appeared.
The 500 Hats of Nikki
Fideldy
By: Nikki Fideldy
Nikki Fideldy is a poor teacher who works in the Kingdom of
Rugby High School. King Blikre and King McNeff demand your hat be removed while
inside the kingdom. Unlike Bartholomew, Nikki would have to run around and pick
up all her hats she had lost throughout the day. During a pleasant stroll
through the cobblestone halls, King Blikre stepped on one of Nikki’s hats and
fell. Red with fury, King Blikre marched down and demanded Nikki hand over all
her hats. “You have too many hats” yelled King Blikre. She gave him the following:
·
Accountant
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Advocate
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Architect
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Attorney
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Author
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Bus Driver
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Career Counselor
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Carpenter
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Cheerleader
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Chef
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Coach
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Computer Expert
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Curriculum Writer
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Detective
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Doctor
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Janitor
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Mad Scientist
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Physiatrist
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Secretary
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School Concierge
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Stand-in Mom
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Teacher
·
Tutor
Feedback
At the end of semester one, I gave all my students a teacher
evaluation. When I handed out the form most of them didn’t understand right
away. I had to spend a couple minutes explaining why I wanted them to evaluate
my class and me as a teacher. Right away, they thought it was a joke. After
some convincing they filled out the form. Many of them were so proud of the
things they wrote they were even confident enough to write their names on it. Many
of them made the following comments: “Why would you even care what we think”, “Are
you going to fail me if I said something bad”, “Do we get to do this to other
teachers”, and “What are you going to do with what we say”. It was at this
moment I realized that teachers shouldn’t be the only ones giving feedback. Some
of their comments were hard to take but it’s because of them that I am a great
teacher. My best games, activities, and labs came from ideas from them.
I don’t believe I give the best feedback 100% of the time.
It becomes very challenging to give timely feedback when you’re wearing 500 "hats". I have to remind my students and myself at times that I’m
only one person working many different jobs. I get paid the same amount if I stay
at the school until 4pm or 11pm. I believe now that my students have realized
that I’m only human and the extra time I put in is for them not me.
“I think it’s important for a teacher to get looked over by their
students. They could tell the teacher what they like and don’t like and if it’s
mandatory to learn you can find a different way to teach it. Over all I think
it creates a more relaxed learning environment when a student and teacher compromise.”
– Nicole Atkinson
