Loathe is in the air.

You know what I hate most about Valentine’s Day? The cards. No, this will not be your standard attack against the greeting card industry on how they have exploited yet another holiday to the point of disgust. I’m actually going to focus on the exploitation of Valentine’s Day cards by students.

The Farter gave me a card. I got one from Britonee (not Brittanee, but Britonee). One kid, Nervousness gave me three!

Those are just a few of a long list of students who gave me a card (or cards) and there is one thing that connects them. Every single one is teetering with their grades. Believe me, I checked my grade book to confirm my suspicions, and hello, it’s two days until the end of the six weeks!

Now, their situations do vary. Some are on the D/F, D/C, or C/B fence, while others are not satisfied with the dreaded 89. I swear, to see a kid’s reaction to an 89 is dumbfounding. They turn their noses up at it. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they would rather get a 49 than an 89.

I’m not sure which disturbs me more—the fact that they stoop to such tactics, or that they think teachers' lives are so sad that their morals can be bought with simply a Snickers mini and a card featuring a napping cat that reads, “You’re Purrr-fect!”

It takes at least a full size Snickers bar to get me to listen.