Painted Lady

If I've learned anything in my teaching career, it's that big, sudden changes in a teacher's appearance cause all kinds of excitement amongst the middle school set. I walked into school today ready for it, and sure enough, I have replied "Yes, I did," and "Because I felt like it," many times today.   The questions, of course, being, "Did you dye your hair?!" and "Why?!"   They've also been quite complimentary. Many kids have smiled and said, "I like it!" But by far the best question/comment about my new look came from one of our 7th graders, as we all walked outside for our ten-minute morning break.   Ollie was walking along with his class (I was escorting a different group of kids) when he saw me and asked, "Miss Cooper! Did you paint your hair?"   I smiled and said, "Yes, I dyed it, Ollie."   I turned to his teacher and we both laughed quietly. What a choice of words!   I'm in for more of this tomorrow, when I go to my other school. It will cause excitement and conversation for about five minutes, until the next pressing middle school matter comes along and I'm left chuckling quietly to myself.