>I do my best. I have a quote near my desk reminding me not to let that which I cannot control affect that which I can. What about those items that seem to be under my control, but keep happening? Every teacher has them: the pet peeves.

1. Perfectly good pencils left behind on the floor at the end of a day. This student will probably complain tomorrow that he has no pencils, and therefore cannot do his math. Grrrrrr!

2. Paper, recyclable paper, in the wastebasket – when the recycling bin is right next to it! I worry that we’re raising a generation of kids for whom recycling is a “yeah, yeah, yeah, okay” instead of a useful and valuable action.

3. Violins left at school all week. This is twofold: the violins get in my way, like the one right under my chair legs. More important, the students aren’t practicing. If they only play the instrument once a week, they’ll make no progress. It’s a lot like learning math or reading: practicing the skills is essential to maintaining knowledge and making progress.

Okay, readers, spill it. What are your pet peeves, teacher or not?