My Slippery Students

My 11th formers gave me the slip today. Tricky kids. I have them for the 6th and 7th lessons on Wednesday. Only a couple of classes have the 7th lesson. The school is pretty empty and the students spend most of the class wishing they were somewhere else. I'm sure they spend most lessons wishing to be elsewhere, but they're more vocal about it during the 7th lesson on Wednesday. They start every answer with "I wish I could go home." To which I say, sorry, I didn't make the schedule. Anyway, today my tricky 11th formers gave me the slip and I can't really be mad at them because I think I gave them permission to do it.

At the start of the 6th lesson, two of my strongest girls approached me. They asked if they could leave to prepare for their home teacher's birthday party. Birthday's are a big deal here and I certainly didn't want to be the American who didn't let them set up for their beloved teacher's birthday party. I told them they needed to stay for the first lesson but then they could go. I assumed that they were talking about themselves. I didn't think they meant we as in everyone in the class. They did though. After the 6th lesson, (a fairly good discussion of women in politics around the world) everyone started putting on their hats and their scarves. They packed up their bags and literally, in the blink of an eye, they were all gone from the room. It was just me and my gradebook and my lesson plan for the next hour. Next time I'll have to be more specific when I say yes.

I teach grades 5,6,7,8,9,10 and 11. The fifth graders understand a fraction of what I say but they're eager. My 6th graders all have ADD. They drive me bonkers. I like them as people, but as attentive students, good grief! They're making me go gray. There have been days where I've been so frustrated by them that I leave the room muttering: Assholes. Mature, I know.

My 8th formers are pretty good. Some days they're crazy, most days their lazy, but for the most part they listen to me and respect me. I like my 10th formers the best. The class is mostly girls and they're so sweet and pleasant and they all try really hard. My 11th formers, when they're not giving me the slip, are good too. Some of the kids speak english really well. It's those students that I feel I have the most to offer.