In between visits to the stickerbang, the noraebang, the DVD bang, and well, pretty much any bang I can find, I occasionally turn up for work and ummm...TEACH. Or at least try to.
Without sounding too "Kids Say the Darndest Things" (if only because those Cosby-esque sweaters are SOOOO not flattering), I've had two rather noteworthy run-ins with my students recently.
I teach a class of 7 students--six super-loud, rowdy, raucous boys and one sweet, timid girl. If I could only use one word to describe these boys, I think 'feral' might be it. I've been working on the boys raising their hands and saying 'pardon' instead of 'huh??' when they want something. On the day in question, the sweet, timid girl asked me a sweet, timid question without raising her hand while the boys were rioting. This caused the boys to get super offended (rioting even louder). One of the boys was nearly apoplectic, and searched for something on his cell phone dictionary, finally sputtering "TEACHER!!! YOU DID THIS: _____!" and showing me his cell phone, which read "sexual discrimination". I laughed long and I laughed hard.
A couple of days later, I was teaching another group of loud, obnoxious middle school boys. They think it's really funny to be anywhere but in the classroom when I arrive, and again, I had to go and round them up. I was in the process of storming out the door when one of the boys was pelting down the hall and nearly crashed into me. I screamed, causing him to fall on the floor for no particular reason like one of those fainting goats (picture this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_3Utmj4RPU). Throughout the class that followed, he gave me periodic stricken looks which made me snort and giggle every time.
