The Teacher Forgot All Your Birthdays

(I am in first grade. I am very excited to start learning but, honestly, I am not the brightest kid. On our first day, our teacher lines us all up by height and tells us each to say our name and then say our birthday. I am a bit was scared when it was my turn to say it.)

Teacher: “And when is your birthday?”

Me: “I don’t know.”

(This seemed to anger the teacher even further as a few previous kids didn’t know their birthdays either. She stood all the kids who didn’t know their birthdays in a separate line and started to shout at us.)

Teacher: “How can you all not even know your own birthday?! Now, I want you all to go home tonight and write your birthday on a sign and hang it around your neck and come to school with it, understand?! Not one of you dare come without it!”

(I was terrified since I couldn’t think of a way to make a sign myself and was almost in tears. Another girl was unfazed, though, and just told me she wasn’t going to make one, but I honestly believed what the teacher was shouting. When my mom picked me up I didn’t tell her anything since I was too embarrassed to tell her and only had one thing to ask.)

Me: “Mom, when is my birthday?”

Mom: “Oh, it’s [Date].”

(The next day no one showed up with any signs around their neck and the teacher seemed to have forgotten the incident all together.)