But there are teachers with the gift to make it look easy, and Sue Loftus is one of them. It's a great job. Even after 33 years, I never know what to expect. She makes it clear from Day One what she expects of her students. It's a reminder that neighborhood wealth can stop at the public school door.
Disruptions are rare, which leaves plenty of time to teach.
At Cheltenham, O'Brien spends a good chunk of one class playing nurse to her fourth-graders, all of whom seem to need her attention at once. One girl complains of a canker sore. Three others have itchy eyes. Another child's neck hurts. The teacher listens to each complaint, writes passes to the school nurse for some, gets a cold compress for another, gives comfort to all.