Ok, about 30-60% of them are awesome at doing their homework and participating in class at any given moment. They deserve much more of my time than they actually receive. The other 40-70% seem to drop off at a steep incline.
"Forgetting" homework.
Copying homework.
Sleeping in class.
Failing quizzes.
Disrupting class
(Doing everything they can, in fact, to get away with making every kind of noise).
Goofing around.
Speaking Spanish left and right.
Ay no.
But I do love them. I really do. They're hilarious and smart. (They have so much potential. They just need to apply themselves. - the old teacher adage is so true!) They are creative and sneaky and goofy and passionate and dramatic and - Good Lord! - are they sassy. The other day, after I reprimanded one student for speaking Spanish, another student told me, "You're wrong, Mees." Really? Am I now? Today, I caught two students copying when they both wrote the word "reaten" instead of "written." Ah HAH!
I just love 'em.
And how about that student who simply decided not take a quiz last week? Hmmm? He is the same student who, in response to the question, "In Honduras, what does it mean to be a "real" man?," announced that a man is someone "who has a penis." This was after I announced that the answer should not be biological. Did not get the memo, apparently. I love you, too, Oh Quiz-less One.
How about my last class today in which TWO students completed the homework out of 20. Yes! I love even you, 6th hour!
They are funny, though. So funny.
For example, I graded journal entries today. In one of these entries, my students had to draw pictures that represented the vocabulary words for that week. For the word "tentative," one student drew a man with one hand on his beer belly next to the quote, "I'm fat and I want chocolate." Tough decision. For "loquacious," one student drew Hamlet with a speech blurb which read "Blah, blah, blah." They haven't even read that yet, and they already understand it. Also, in reference to "verbatim," another student drew a New York Times issue with the title, "George Harrison Dies - 'Love Each Other.'" I'm pretty sure that's an actual quote from a 2006 New York Times issue.
Finally, I had my students write monologues from a different person's perspective (an old lady, a child, a movie star, etc). I asked them to write about what this person would be thankful for. One delightful journal entry read:
OLD LADY: "I'm thankful because my husband is not here . . . that old man! I'm also thankful for my kids, they give me clothes and money"
I laughed out loud. And, yet, the "George Harrison" student above wrote this impressive response:
"I am thankful for many things, um, for example for the short years I passed and lived with my mom. For the Great Years we had in Hamburg with John and George. For meeting Ringo. For all the experiences we had in The Cavern. For all the friends I made. For having 2 or 3 meals a day. For all the LP's and the EP's we recorded together. For the lovely 10 years we stuck together. Though the last 3 years where tough, we made it through. I am thankful for my wife and for my kids, for Linda will always be in my heart. For the chance of having this awesome band. The Drop T drumcase, for my life."
Sir Paul McCartney, from Liverpool
That's my kid.
In the end, I love them and I am thankful for them. I need to remember that when yet another student tells me that he or she forgot to do the homework. If not, my drama class always makes up for it.
On a side-note, here's a glimpse of the sun highlighting a portion of Tegus' beautiful mountains.
I see this everyday from my classroom.
Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! I will be attending two Thanksgiving feasts (I'm quite popular these days). This is mostly because everyone else is heading to some beach on some coast of some country. Who needs the beach anyway? I am getting over a sinus infection, so I decided to rest this weekend. We don't have school on Thursday or Friday so, hopefully, I can keep working on my novel which is just over 10,000 words and 22 single-spaced pages.
All my best and a thousand hugs from Honduras,
Julie
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