Crazy Kids

Middle school kids are crazy. Seventh and eight graders vary widely in size, have raging hormones, are just discovering the meaning of sex, and never think far enough ahead to see the consequences of their actions.
There is a little spanish girl who is in one of my gym classes who last time I was here inquired on a hypothetical basis whether I'd suck her toes. This week, she told me my legs looked sexy in shorts. (In fact, I have had three different girls comment on my legs. Maybe it's time for long pants?) Another girl ran into the boy's lockerroom; she also commented on my legs. (Are we seeing a pattern here?) Another girl who I had taught in a home economics (well now they call it "life skills") class I subbed for last semester whistled at me and commented on my legs as I walked the halls. Last time I was hear she told me she'd given another teacher a lapdance and always had something shocking to say or do as I passed her in the hall. And that's just the little (or not so little) hispanic girls. I had one girl (not hispanic) come into class with her pants pulled down way past what is normally considered decent so that her underwear showed. I immediately ordered her to pull up her pants. She immediately replied she had to keep them down because she had lost a bet to her cousin. And that is just the girls.
There is a young black kid in one of my gym classes who has received two referrals for fighting in the locker room in three days. His temper is bigger than he is, and he's not much bigger than a chihuahua. I teach boys who apparently believe that there is never a reason horseplay is not acceptable behavior. I work with boys whose behavior problems run so deep, and are so belligerent that I really expect to see their faces on a most-wanted poster some day. And that's just third period.

Another Day in the Life

I have had no less than two teachers mistake me for a middle school student. It doesn't help that I am wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and running shoes. I could argue that I am taller but all the jocks in my 7th period gym class are just as tall.
I am posting from the library of Thomas C. Marsh Middle School where I am going to be teaching gym for a little while. I feel a little guilty having this much fun on the job. I have a good time but the kids less so since I actually make them work out. They all complain that they were supposed to play in gym class. I am. :)

Fat and Happy

I am happy at the moment and mostly because I am well-fed. I also really like teaching physical education. This is one of those rare days that you sit back and say "Life is good."

Scenarios of Gloom and Doom

The current buzz in the media is that the war isn't going great now and is soon to be worse. I would like to believe differently but frankly I don't have enough real information to say otherwise. I can only think of past wars that the media and scattered voices in the defense community said similar things. At the same time these people only need to be right once. Josh Marshall has the most complete and frightening prediction of failure in Iraq yet. Even so, a close reading of his blog post reveals the prediction isn't for military defeat but failure to complete the war objectives. The scenarios are actually more frightening from an Iraqi perspective because all of them predict great suffering in Iraq and one predicts near complete devastation.