It was a hot June day in 2011. My wife and I had been parents for just four days.

It’s 4 a.m.  I’ve struggled for the last hour to go to sleep.  But, I can’t.  Yet again, I am tossing and turning, unable to shut down my brain.  Why?  Because I am stressed about my students.  Really stressed.  I’m so stressed that I can only think to write down what I really want to say — the real truth I’ve been needing to say — and vow to myself that I will let my students hear what I really think tomorrow.

This is what students really need to hear:

First, you need to know right now that I care about you. In fact, I care about you more than you may care about yourself.  And I care not just about your grades or your test scores, but about you as a person. And, because I care, I need to be honest with you. Do I have permission to be…

BEST. PRANK. EVER.

We know we are always serious around here in MadMan land, but THIS made us actually die laughing.  We all know  how we would feel if your child came home and told us he got another child pregnant regardless of race.

We believe this to be the typical concerned parent response.. from disbelief, to confusion, to anger, to scheming to “I’ma beat yo’ ass”.  You can tell they are a very traditional African family … peep the wedding photo on the wall .. which shows by just it’s sheer size and placement in the family home that proper family values is paramount.  Kudos to this Dad… we would have done the same thing.  We ain’t mad at ya.