ass me no questions, i'll tell you no lies

Probably the worst week yet. And I think that was mostly because of one particular group of students: Homeroom 304. [lightning strikes, terrifying music plays] They come to me from 12:06 - 1:36. They come armed with attitude and full bladders and paper balls. Their mantra? "We don't give a f***" And in all my resolve to enforce a no-cursing policy in my classroom, I let the whole day go to hell in a hand basket on Thursday with one slip of the tongue: "Hakim! Sit your ass down!"

Yikes. The crowd went wild. And I stood there, exhausted, thinking that I was done trying. That I couldn't possibly feign control for the remaining 25 minutes of the class. 

But here's my problem with 304. (and every other group of kids at some point in the year). I give them too much power. Which is a funny way to put it considering that empowerment might be one thing that this teaching-gig is all about. But they are just kids. They deal with a lot of adult problems, unfortunately. But mostly they are 13. 

Yesterday was better with 304. I didn't yell any expletives at a child. I smiled a few times. We finished our story, "Flowers for Algernon." (tragic science fiction) And Hakim doesn't seem to be holding a grudge, which I think is very big of him.