Monday, August 25, 2008

First Day of School

The 7th graders are enthusiastic, funny, and talkative. When I asked where two boys were, I was told they were in the bathroom “going #3.” When I made a questioning face, Juan explained as if it were obvious, “You know… There’s #1 and #2 and then #3: diarrhea.” I then explained the phrase, “Too much information.”

At the beginning of class many kept talking while I was explaining something, so I got stern and reminded them how important it is to listen and follow directions. Tamara raised her hand to ask, genuinely it seemed, “Why are you so strict? Are we ever going to have fun?” I explained that yes, we would have fun, but that the most important thing is to learn and I take school and education very seriously. Paco then raised his hand. When I called on him, he just said, “You scare me.”

My 8th grade class is only four boys. Three were there today, and they are adorable and very smart. They interrupt each other a lot because they’re so excited to participate and make me laugh. I was doing an introductory writing activity which ending with them writing anything else about themselves that they wanted. My favorite response was, “I like the sports, and the girls.”

And the ninth graders? Well, I have my work cut out for me, but I’m not terribly worried. I wanted to tell them, “Listen niños. I’ve seen much worse.” They’ll come around eventually. Overall, it just felt good to be back in the classroom and start figuring things out in the school system here.

4 comments:

Amy said...

Karla, you are so good at what you do! And I think it's funny that you scare Paco. Maybe you should have roared at him. Or, maybe not. :-)

Pete LaFrance said...

I laughed out loud when I read your post. What an incredible first day (better than mine I have to say). You sound like you are in just the right place.

p.s.
this is posting as pete, but it's me (robyn)

Chris said...

Just tell them your friend Chris is a cop and if they misbehave he'll come down there to strait'n them out.

I thnk the cops down there follow their own rules...so your kids should fall into line.

LilLilC said...

#3 - that's hilarious! Nhoj and I laughed out loud about that one! You are doing a great job!