Don't, a tornado of commands

Over the last few years, I've come up with a number of similies and metaphors to describe the life of a teacher.

A personal favorite is this: Teaching is like being attacked by a tornado of chickens pecking you to death.  That's pretty darn accurate.

During the raging chicken storm one afternoon on the bus, I found myself saying, "Don't take the collar off the otter, [insert child's name]!  After saying it, I realized that particular sentence would sound so bizzare to anyone listening in without having the original context.  Then I started to think about all the crazy stuff I've had to say over the years that start with "don't!"   A few for your pleasure:

• Don't touch the dead bird! You'll get sick!
• Don't put milk in the plants! It makes the foyer stink like rotten milk!
• Don't staple other people's feet! Are you crazy!
• Don't speak in Japanese just because I said no Korean! We're studying English!
• Don't touch me after you wiped your nose with that hand!
• Don't throw my waterbottle out the window!  There are people down there!
• Don't say "gay bar" anymore! I know you're not saying Naver! (Naver and "gay bar" sound similar in a Korean accent)
• Don't ask me where papers go when they are labeled right in front of you!
• Don't drink my coffee! That's the LAST thing you need!
• Don't say I'm Loki! I much prefer Thor! 
• Don't lick the sugar cubes! That's not good for you!
• Don't call me grandma! I'm only 10 years older than you are!

While some of these are quite entertaining, my favorite "don'ts" are the ones listed below.  These don'ts are the reason I'm a teacher: 

• Don't ever give up on yourself
• Don't quit trying your hardest
• Don't believe that you're not worth something
• Don't accept the bad labels that people give you
• Don't become something just because society expects you to
• Don't become the very thing that you hate about this world
• Don't ever quit dreaming