I would be lying if I said I wasn't counting down the days here at the good old ALC. Every summer I say I'm never going to do this again. And every summer I do at least one summer session (or at least a part of a summer session). The money is just too damn good. I don't really have any reason to complain with this first session's kids though. Compared to groups in the past, they are a delight. But there are just several things that wear on me - it's not my room nor my classes, so I kind of feel like a stranger; it's summer and no matter how hard I try, I can't devote the effort I would during the school year; the drama and baggage most of the kid bring in (and relish in); the few bad seeds who make life miserable.
Out of my first class here, Multi cultural lit, I would say I have about two kids who would do just fine in a normal school setting. For example, yesterday I told the class we would be having a test. I put up the stories on the board so they would know what to review or read if they missed some time. No one wrote anything down. Okay. So I made the test a whopper. Just to be mean. Then to be worse, I made two versions of the test.
When I arrived this morning, I found one student - ONE - who had arrived early and had a book out and was reviewing. The rest came in - didn't bother to look at the board, which reminded them that today we were having a test - and just started going over their drama and angst. One girl was talking about the fight she had with her parents about her boyfriend (a little shit who is also in the class. I make this judgment on the fact I've seen him in school and can testify to his dirt-bagness. I saw him put his fist through a window over a fight they had last year). She told her father, "Dad, I'm not giving up on him." I'm serious! Who says crap like that? Characters on "Days of our Lives" maybe. Or maybe characters in a Danielle Steele novel, but real people? And a teenager at that! Then she bragged how she was willing to play her divorced parents off of each other in order to remain her with him. And all for a kid who likely cheats on her and will likely abuse her in a few years. What a life she is about to lead. Then she talked about how her mother lives out of state so she doesn't have to pay child support. Apparently, her mother doesn't have custody of her. Given how our courts side with the mother, one has to wonder how much of an utter shit she must be not to have custody.
Then another student, said he had to make an urgent call - which I refused to let him - apparently his girlfriend's mother got her fourth - yes, fourth - DUI last night and is headed to jail. What can you say to that? Another student is in a half-way house. I had her in class last year, but she averaged attending two days a week. This summer, when I was showing "American History X," she was angry that she couldn't watch it (apparently the lady in charge of the house doesn't let them view anything over PG, and of course, "American History X" is R - just try finding a good movie that isn't). She was not happy when I notified her. I think her words were, "That is stupid." I believe my response - after about the 50th "That is stupid" comment was, "No. Stupid is skipping so often you have to be put in a half way home instead of your own home." That got my point across. Finally, she talked to the lady in charge and had her call the powers that be here and finally got permission to watch the film.
Yesterday I had a mini-incident with yet another student. He has missed twice (the limit) and is behind. He is lazy. He was grumbling about his make up work. I told him - in polite, honest terms - to just drop and work or tube instead of show up every day if he isn't going to pass. Okay. My real words were, "You gotta be nuts to attend every day at 8:30 in the morning - Monday through Friday - when you could be working or having fun - and not pass!" This motivated him some. However, he finished his work in about ten minutes. I asked him if he really read the story assigned. He confessed that he had 'skimmed' it. I told him that was not good enough. He pouted and whined. I handed him a box of Kleenex. This got the laughs going from others and more pouts from him. "I suck at reading," he whined. "Hey, me too. But then again I don't try to read a story in ten minutes." "I hate this," he said. "And I can't imagine why you're here at the ALC at 9 am on a Tuesday," I replied. He complained some more, so I took him to the office to work. I told him to either get serious or drop because he's wasting my time and his. He didn't like that, but he got his work done.
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