June 14th: Father's Day lesson and apathy resurgence

Day 271

Last official week of teaching (next week will be parties and photos and music and often eating snacks) and some of my students are starting to get sad. It's going to be rough, sicne there's 518 possible cases of breaking down, but then not every class is golden, as I was reminded by the first and last classes of the day.

The first class's typical lackadaisical energy deflated my morning jive. Not even the prospect of a party next week could rouse their heads off of hand perches. God, grade 2 is just mostly horrible all across the board. The next class, I could tell Victoria (my little class interpreter) was sad. After class she asked for my email address and I gave it saying,"Other students have asked for it, but no one has writeen to me."

"I will," she said."I think we will miss you very much."

"Me too. You are one of my favoriote students. You are very clever."

Lunch was hard. Ellie from class 7 sat by me. I asked her "How are you today?"

"Just-a so-so."

"I think i am also," I said, "I am very happy to go back to America, but very sad to leave all of you beautiful students."

She nodded and grinned painfully. So cute. The Friday classes next week are going to wrench my heartstrings the most. But before the day could get too sappy, the apathy crew reminded me of just how they got their prestigious title. First, Smalls was pouring hot water on the floor in the back during eye excercises. I told him to sit and he took his adolescent time getting to his desk, then took forever sitting down and then started reading a newspaper instead of doing the exercises.

I kicked him out.and he strutted out into the hall. I went out to make sure he went to the office and didn't just roam the halls like a bastard. That's what he was doing and I pointed to the office. "Why?" he asked.

"Because you're being bad. Now go."

He made a gesture of making eye exercises.

"You're going to be good now?"

He nodded and I ushered him back in the room. Stared him down while he did them. Class began and Noodles piped up, "Where is Jack?"

I looked around. "Where IS Jack?" He eventually came in ten minutes later, shirt wet, obviously fresh from a WC break. "Where were you Jack?"

"Oh, uh...doctor office."

"Really? You're ill?"

He nodded.

"You weren't at the WC?"

He shook his head.

"Look me in the eye and tell me 'Mr. Willis, I did not got to the WC.'"

He couldn't do it. He kept looking down.

"Liar! Sit down, you make me sick."

I started the Father's Day lesson of gathering information about their fathers, modeled after the Mother's day lesson. As one student was reciting the information, I looked over and Jack was stuffing something into his mouth.

"Are you eating a snack?! Stand up!"

I made him stand for the rest of the period. We continued and I saw that Noodles was playing a Gameboy. GOD DAMMIT! I took it away, made him stand. I was really considering cancelling the party for next week, but that would be unfair to the few shy good students I had in there, which I gave praise to after the multiple scoldings of their hooligan classmates.

I addresed the bad ones en masse: "Why are you bad?"

Silence.

"Do you think it is fun to make Mr. Willis angry?"

Silence.

"Do you?"

Jack muttered, "I will become good."

"When?! The year's over! Next class is the last one! WHEN will you start being good? Next year? When I'm not here?!"

Silence.

I left praising the good kids again, leaving it up in the air whether the bastards would be let in to the party next week. opefully the good kids will harangue the monsters and everything will be ironed out next week.

I rode over to the middle school after nightfall, a hundred mosquitos hitting me as I rode, bats filling the air, munching away. It gave me an idea to have domestic bats. I'm sure if you raise them from a very early age, they can be housebroken, and learn not to fly into "people personal space" in the house while they gobble up unwanted insects. I'll have to look into it. May be some money in that.

Heather started the process of getting her room together for the move, which is like excavating Egyptian tombs. An entire table-top of food was hiding in a drawer somewhere and she kept pulling out wads of money from clothing like she just murdered some Las Vegas highrollers. I downloaded the new System of a Down album "Mezmerize" and listened to it for the sixth time that day. Completely brilliant. Album of the year, hands down. And it's only the first half, the second comes out in the fall.

When Rhys got done with the Koreans, we watched Episode III (this time to the end) and then, with mosquito coils burning away, tucked in for a deserved rest.