If you guessed the fact that there's a phone number written up there, you were right! Now I'll explain.
This whole week was so draining having to teach chemistry to rambunctious high-schoolers free from an apparently neurotic teacher for a week. They were driving me crazy! I was constantly shushing them, constantly re-directing them, constantly calling for answers and getting "I don't know how to do it" and yet, and yet... they all had the nerve to say "You're so much better than our teacher. She never teaches like you, she never explains it like this!" and I would say "What are you talking about! I'm trying to teach and no one will listen! Are you sure you're learning??" and they would say "Our teacher is crazy, if you ask her a question she will just start talking for like 20 minutes about her life and stuff, so we just ask her random questions." So I would say: "So let me get this straight. You say your teacher gets off topic by your questions. So you purposely ask questions so you don't have to learn. And then you complain that she doesn't teach you? Is that correct? Do I have that right?" Their only response would be something like "But you're better!" Give me a break kiddos!
So by the end of the week (yesterday, they have today off) I was just exhausted. When 6th period came, I was having a very hard time keeping on keeping on, and they were my favorite class, and they just kept cracking me up and it was all I could do to keep us on track for the full 54 minutes. One kid Kyle apparently developed a crush on me (for entertainment purposes I'm sure) and while they were solving problems he asked "Miss K, what are you doing tomorrow?" I thought he just meant since they had the day off so I said "I'm not sure yet, why?" and he shouts out "Cause it's Valentine's Day, I'm going to take you to Olive Garden and buy you a necklace" and I said "Oh you know what, I think I'm going to be busy tomorrow..." and then later "Miss K, do you live in Riverside?" and I did think carefully but still answered "Yes, I do" and him: "Oh that's perfect, we don't even have to have a long distance relationship, my mom can pick you up to drive us to Olive Garden" and then me "Oh I think I'm moving to Mexico tomorrow..." everyone was laughing, and then questions just started coming out and I was too tired to think about chemistry and started answering:
Student 1: "How long did you live in France for?"
Me: "For a year"
Student 2: "Where did you live?"
Me: "In Bordeaux"
Student 3: "Where is that?"
Me: "In the southwest. It's where all the wine comes from"
Student 4: "So you're an alcoholic?!"
Me: "I never said that!"
Student 5: "...but you are? Do you like alcohol Miss K?"
Me: "Ummm, I don't think I can have this conversation with you guys"
Student 6: "That's a yes!"
Me: "We need to go back to chemistry! Chemistry!"
Kyle: "I'll go back to the chemistry between you and me Miss K"
Me: "Oh my God, I'm going to be on the news..."
So I gave them a detailed chemistry question that we were going to tag-team solve, but even that got lost for awhile
Student 1: "How can I find the molar mass of bacon?"
Me: "Bacon?!"
Student 1: "Yeah, what you wrote on the board"
Me: "That says boron. Boron, like what this class is for all of us"
Student 2: "Miss K, can you say it in French? Say something in French"
Me: "No, you guys need to sign up for French classes if you want that"
Class: "Pleeeeeeease Miss K! Say something in French!"
Me: "Vous cassez mon couer!" (You are all breaking my heart!)
Class: "What did you say?!"
Student 3: "Wait, say it again, I think I understood"
Me: "I said you all need to do problem 18"
Student 3: "Yep, I heard that!"
Then came the solving. I called a first student up to work something from the problem until I was satisfied or said it was enough, then I would let them tag team the next student up to continue solving the problem. They all thought it would be funny to call Kyle up so that he was up at the board for a long time, saying "Miss K, can you help me write this? Can you come next to me and point it out?" and I literally stayed on the opposite side of the room, and would call out from the other side "Now just multiply the moles given times the molar mass!" and he would say "I don't know how to do that on the calculator, can you come show me?" and again, this was 6th period, the last day of the week, the mental break was very welcome, I didn't even care. I whipped out my own calculator and said "I got 102.0 grams" and then him: "That's funny, because I got this number..." and then proceeded to write his phone number on the board and a heart underneath it. I was so relieved the bell finally rang, but I will still miss that class!
Thursdays are yoga days with Marisa, and on the way to her house (whilst practically falling asleep) I decided to drive to her place through the orange groves and marvel and how beautiful Riverside is.
Absence (and lack of smog) surely have made my heart grow fonder!
No comments:
Post a Comment