Epiphany in Baltimore

Thursday, Sept. 09, 2004

Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com

Do you like how I try to add a new snappy entry up as quickly as possible after I write a long, sappy, whiny, woe-is-me entry? Yup.

Today wasn't a great day. The luster of the new school year has worn off after only three days, as I already have a least-favorite class. My class of Juniors has each of the following in it: Lazy head down boy. Lazy odd head down girl. Lazy head down girl. Bitchy loud girl. Gregarious but insufferably loud girl. Underperforming attention hog boy. Three who decide to turn in their baseline completely blank because it was too hard.

Today, I could feel myself getting angry, something that rarely happens. I could feel that swell in my chest begin to rise into my head, where I have to let it out with a quick curt comment to a student. I didn't, though. I took some breaths and paused and decided to ignore. For now. They will come in on Monday, though, with a new seating arrangement that I've figured out after talking with the teacher who taught many of them last year. Apparently I made a huge mistake by sitting the two girls with the last name of Johnson next to each other. And the odd girl shouldn't be sitting in front. Put a no-talk boy next to the loud obnoxious girl. Call home with this kid, it works.

The kids were frustrated by their opening baseline test, but it really wasn't that hard. A passage analysis from Hard Times. I passed it out, and there was silence for about ten minutes, but gregarious obnoxiously loud girl says to me, "Mr. Epiphany, this is too hard. I've read it three times and just don't get it. It makes no sense." All the class mutters in agreement, and the muttering turns into a whine, and they ask me if I understand it, and then one girl makes a smart ass comment that, no, I don't, that I'd have to ask someone else too. That was it. I cut them off and told them to stop their whining (probably didn't use that word) and to just do their best, that's all I could ask. Many of the kids were working hard, but a few of them just turned themselves off, and I just made them sit there with their heads up while everyone else diligently worked.

It wasn't a good class period. It's embarassing to have three juniors that turned in a blank test. One of them is this kid who I was worried would be a problem, because I'm so close to him. He's a complete and total attention hog and wants to be at the center. He's looking at me for approval all the time and I believe he wants special treatment and I'm not going to give it to him. He's disappointing me so far. I told him that today. I think I'm going to tell him tomorrow that I'm going to request that he be removed from my class if things do not improve, as I might just be too close with him for him to be in my class. Although I know this is wimpy and I shouldn't do this, and I know he acts like this in other classes with teachers he's not close with.

***

I watched Joey tonight. Not half bad. I admit I laughed out loud at Joey's reaction to hearing that the "Oh Romeo" speech was spoken by Juliet, not Romeo. It had some middling moments, but I think the show will be alright. I really need to watch some shows this year, need to get back in the habit of watching TV to get me away from the computer. I was going to watch The Apprentice, but ninety minutes just seemed way too long to watch Donald Trump, and I'm so averse to reality TV that it makes my soul feel better just not to watch it. I hope to be in bed by the time that new medical show comes on.

I have to figure out why my computer is chirping like a bird every fifteen minutes. I think it's that damn AOL Weatherbug Program that I installed because they said I had an old version of Instant Messenger. So far, I hate it. And I think it's chirping at me.

I have to get out of the habit of being so tired after work and taking a nap. I didn't even mean to today. I just meant to stretch out a little bit on my bed. Suddenly, it's 7:45 pm and my entire evening is gone.

Other highlights of the afternoon include the consumption of nearly an entire box of popsicles. But, hey, they're all natural fruit juice, no sugar added. Heh.