A Teacher Says a Student Asked Her if Teachers Get to Pick Their Favorite Day of the Week Too, or if That’s Only Something Kids Get to Do

Mrs. Bennett was halfway through taking attendance when seven-year-old Eli raised his hand and asked a question that had nothing to do with the morning lesson. He wanted to know whether teachers were allowed to have a favorite day of the week too, or whether that was “just something kids get to do.” The question made the teacher laugh at first, but Eli’s explanation afterward made her stop and think.

Eli Interrupts Attendance

Mrs. Bennett had just called the final name on her attendance list when Eli’s hand appeared above his head. He was usually full of questions, but this time he looked unusually serious, sitting straight in his chair as if he had been waiting for the right moment to ask.

“Do teachers get to pick their favorite day of the week?” he asked. Mrs. Bennett smiled and said, “Of course we do,” but Eli immediately shook his head. “No, I mean really pick one. Like kids do.”

The Class Starts Guessing

The other students immediately became interested. Someone shouted Monday, another student yelled Friday, and a girl near the window said Saturday was obviously the best.

Mrs. Bennett laughed and told them they could discuss it during morning meeting. Eli still looked unconvinced. He raised his hand again and asked, “But are you allowed to say your real favorite, or do teachers have to like every day the same?

That made the room laugh.

Mrs. Bennett Picks a Day

Mrs. Bennett decided to play along. She told the class that if she absolutely had to choose, Friday was probably her favorite because the classroom felt relaxed and everyone was excited about the weekend.

Eli frowned.

“That’s what I thought,” he said.

Mrs. Bennett asked what he meant. Eli explained that he had assumed teachers weren’t allowed to have favorite days because teachers were supposed to treat every day fairly.

Eli Connects Favorites to Fairness

Mrs. Bennett asked him why having a favorite day would be unfair. Eli thought for a moment before answering.

“If you like Friday best, maybe you give Friday more good stuff,” he said. “Like if Friday was your favorite student, you’d give them more things.”

The class became quieter.

Mrs. Bennett realized Eli wasn’t really asking about weekdays anymore. He was trying to understand whether having a preference automatically meant treating other things differently.

The Teacher Gives Him an Example

Mrs. Bennett asked the students whether they could have a favorite color without thinking their other colors were bad. Several children nodded.

She explained that people could have favorites while still treating everyone fairly. A favorite song didn’t mean every other song was terrible, and enjoying Saturday didn’t mean Monday had to be hated.

Eli listened carefully.

“So you can like something more without being mean to the other things?” he asked.

“Exactly,” Mrs. Bennett said.

Eli Isn’t Satisfied Yet

Eli looked down at his desk. Then he asked, “So what’s your least favorite day?”

The class erupted.

Mrs. Bennett laughed and said she wasn’t sure she wanted to reveal that. Eli immediately pointed out that if she was allowed to have a favorite, she should probably be allowed to have a least favorite too.

Mrs. Bennett told him Tuesday was not her favorite.

“Why Tuesday?” a student asked.

“Because Tuesday feels like Monday forgot to leave,” she answered.

The children burst into laughter.

The Question Takes a Turn

Eli smiled, but then his expression became serious again.

“So if Friday is your favorite, do you get sad when Friday ends?”

Mrs. Bennett nodded.

“Sometimes.”

Eli looked surprised. “Teachers get sad?”

Mrs. Bennett told him teachers had feelings just like everyone else. They could be excited, disappointed, tired, nervous, or happy.

Eli leaned back in his chair.

“I thought teachers only had school feelings.”

The Class Shares What They Thought

Mrs. Bennett asked the class what they thought teachers did after students went home. The answers were hilarious.

One child thought teachers went into a special teacher room and talked about students. Another believed teachers had to stay in the classroom until the next morning. A third insisted teachers probably went home and immediately started grading papers.

Eli raised his hand.

“I thought teachers went home and turned back into regular people.”

Mrs. Bennett laughed so hard she had to put down her attendance clipboard.

Mrs. Bennett Admits Something

She told the class that teachers were regular people while they were teaching too. They simply had a job that required them to be responsible for other people.

She admitted that she had favorite books, favorite foods, favorite songs, and yes, a favorite day of the week.

“But,” she added, “having favorites doesn’t give me permission to treat people unfairly.”

Eli nodded slowly.

“So you have to control what you do, not what you like?”

Mrs. Bennett smiled.

“That’s a very good way to put it.”

Eli Brings Up a Problem

Later that morning, during reading groups, Eli asked Mrs. Bennett privately whether it was okay for him to have a favorite friend.

Mrs. Bennett asked why he was worried about it.

Eli explained that another boy in the class had recently told him he wasn’t a good friend because he sometimes played with other children.

“He said if I liked him best, I should always pick him,” Eli said.

Mrs. Bennett understood immediately why the morning question had mattered so much.

The Favorite Friend Argument

Mrs. Bennett explained that Eli could enjoy spending time with one friend without promising to choose that person every time.

She asked him how he would feel if his friend wanted to play with someone else.

“I’d be sad,” Eli admitted.

“Would you want him to be forced to play with you?”

Eli shook his head.

“Then you already know the answer,” she said. “People can care about each other without owning each other’s choices.”

Eli looked relieved.

The Recess Test

At recess, Eli played soccer with one group of students before joining another group for a game involving a ball and chalk lines.

Mrs. Bennett watched from the doorway.

The boy Eli had mentioned approached him and asked why he wasn’t playing with him.

Eli hesitated before answering.

“You’re my friend. But I can play with other people too.

The boy looked annoyed.

Then another student asked if they could join the game.

Eli moved over and made room.

The Teacher Gets a New Question

When the students returned inside, Eli raised his hand again.

Mrs. Bennett smiled and said, “What is it this time?”

Eli asked whether teachers had favorite students.

The room went completely silent.

Mrs. Bennett knew immediately that this was no longer a silly question.

She told the class that teachers might naturally connect with different students in different ways, but they were responsible for making sure every student received the same respect, attention, and opportunity to learn.

Eli thought about that.

“Even if someone is really funny?”

“Even then.”

A Difficult Student Gets Included

That afternoon, one student struggled with a classroom activity and became frustrated. Several children began whispering because the student was taking longer than everyone else.

Eli was one of the first students to move his chair closer.

“You can look at mine,” he offered.

The student shook his head.

Eli said, “That’s okay. We can figure it out.”

Mrs. Bennett watched quietly.

She realized Eli had understood the difference between liking someone and choosing to treat them well.

Friday Finally Arrives

At the end of the week, Mrs. Bennett reminded the class that they had discussed favorite days.

The students immediately shouted that Friday had won.

Eli raised his hand.

“Mrs. Bennett, is Friday still your favorite?”

She smiled.

“Yes.”

He thought about it.

“Even though we’re leaving?”

“Especially because I’m tired.”

The class laughed.

Eli Changes His Answer

Mrs. Bennett asked Eli what his favorite day was.

He used to always answer Saturday.

This time he said, “I don’t know.”

Mrs. Bennett asked why.

“Because I like different things about different days,” he explained. “Friday is good because school is almost over. Saturday is good because I can sleep. Sunday is good because my dad makes pancakes.”

Mrs. Bennett smiled.

“So you don’t need one favorite?”

Eli shook his head.

“I can just like them differently.”

The Note on the Teacher’s Desk

The following Monday, Mrs. Bennett found a folded piece of paper on her desk.

It was from Eli.

The note said, “You can like Friday best, but you still have to be nice to Monday.”

Mrs. Bennett laughed when she read it.

She taped the note inside her desk drawer.

The question that had started as a child’s curiosity had turned into something much more important. Eli had been trying to understand whether preferences were dangerous, whether choosing one thing meant rejecting another, and whether fairness required people to feel exactly the same about everything.

Mrs. Bennett knew the answer wasn’t that everyone had to love every day, every person, or every situation equally.

The important part was what they chose to do with those feelings.

And from then on, whenever Friday arrived and the children celebrated, Eli would point at the calendar and remind her, “Don’t forget. You still have to be nice to Monday.”

Mrs. Bennett always promised she would try.