I just called in sick, I feel achy all over, but -- it's a great day!
Just before the 3rd block class started, a student came in, asking if I felt well (I must have looked ghastly). I responded that I was not, and he said, "well, you take care of yourself. You're my favorite teacher - nobody else puts up with me".
Well, he was right - I do have a soft spot for those PITA kids (they are often a Pain in the A--).
I was a PITA kid myself. You know the kind - not a gang-banger, not mentally disturbed, just dedicated to the art of causing teachers to make dentists very wealthy correcting their ground-down molars.
This kid is often outrageous in his spontaneous outbursts, too prone to laugh attacks, and hard to keep on task.
But he is smart. At least enough to manage to pass this class. However, I'm not sure that he will. It's not lack of intelligence, it's lack of desire to succeed academically. For this kid, and many others, school is playtime. It's where they act goofy, have fun, and enjoy those last few years of being a kid.
When I return to school, class may be the same, with him acting like he doesn't have a lick of sense. On the other hand, he may change his ways.
That's one of the reasons I stay in education. You can't predict what moment will turn out to change someone's life. Education is like growing bamboo - it takes years and years of watering, fertilizing, and caring - with no evidence that the plant is benefiting.
Then, all of a sudden, growth happens.