OCD vs. the Substitute Teacher

Before I go any further into this post, I am sure there are many people out there that have Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that makes their life hard, and we should all respect that.

That being said, my oldest daughter, who is almost 14, came home with a story that I felt the need to immortalize in print. Let me say beforehand, that my daughter has a VERY dry sense of humor, much like her mother. It gets old having to explain to people that you were only joking, after your serious dead-pan face doesn't immediately tell people what a wonderful sense of humor you actually have.

Okay, onward and upward we go kiddies....There was a substitute in Tiffany's favorite class last week. She finished a worksheet, and after looking at it, decided she didn't like her handwriting and wanted to do it over. Here is how the conversation went when she approached the male substitute teacher:

Tiffany: "Can I get another worksheet."

Sub: "Why? You've finished it already."

Tiffany: "Yes, but I don't like my handwriting, I'd like to redo it."

Sub: "I can read it, the handwriting is fine."

Tiffany: "Well, I don't like my handwriting, and would like to rewrite the paper. Can I have another one?"

Sub: "Do I need to send you next door? I said the paper was fine."

Tiffany: "I'm sorry if my OCD causes you problems"

Sub (with a look of mortification on his poor, naive face): "Uh, oh, oh, here, I'm sorry."

{At this point, let me point out that if Tiffany, my daughter, has OCD, it's news to me}

The class then erupts with laughter, to which Tiffany responds, supposedly with a smile on her face, "Ya'll stop laughing at me. It's not funny."

Of course the laughter continued, and Tiffany, ever the quiet and non-disruptive type, says, "I mean it guys, you're going to make me cry."

This of course, delivered with a smile, that should have told this poor man that she was merely basking in the amusement of her peers, but nooooo, substitute says in a panicked voice, "This is NOT a laughing matter. Stop laughing at her. It's nothing to laugh at."

This poor guy probably felt bad the rest of the day. Teenagers....gotta love em, cause you can't kill em.