about a boy

The eighth graders all went away to a retreat today (and will still be gone tomorrow) leaving a large hour and twenty minute hole in my schedule this morning where I had nothing to do. Being a new employee, in the interests of making a good impression, I reported to the office and asked if there was any way to make myself useful but after a quick consult, the head secretary sent me away to "enjoy the morning". The block left empty by the grade eights was followed by a prep block which meant I was free from 8:30 until noon. Bliss!

If I wasn't as refreshed as I am coming back from almost two years away from teaching, I think I would have gone home or at least gone to a coffee shop. But instead I went to my classroom and worked. And got a lot done. It was wonderful.

I got the first act of the play all blocked out, finished the compilation of one set of scripts for the safety course, and even managed to squeeze in a phone consultation with another safety client. I also ate lunch today, a feat I did not manage to accomplish on either Monday or Tuesday.

Rehearsal was easy today because Act 2 is so short. I'm dreading tomorrow because I think it's going to take about 2 hours... but I guess we'll see. After rehearsal, some men came out to fix my stage curtains and that was also nice to see since they looked so terrible prior. One of the men was very flirtatious and kept asking me if he could join my grade twelve class.

I wish he would join my grade twelve class. It would be nice to have someone in there who thinks I'm wonderful. Currently I'm feeling a bit of a rift with the twelves... That is, I feel that about half of them are working with me, two students are actively working against me, and the rest aren't sure which camp to join. The girl who was so upset with me for not casting her in a bigger part told me today that she's decided to drop out of the show. So she doesn't want to assistant direct and she doesn't want the part I gave her either. This is probably for the best because I find her exhausting in terms of the amount of attention she requires (and interruptions she makes). But it is a shame given that she obviously feels that she's missing out on something that is important to her. During class time, she and one other girl seem hellbent on running the show regardless of anything I might have planned. I'm trying to diffuse this rather than having it explode because I don't want them to feel confronted. I just want them to be won over. Apart from that, I feel some tension in the room with this group of students, some of whom haven't decided whether or not I am going to be worthy of their devotion - particularly those who didn't cast in the roles they wanted in the play. It's difficult. And awkward. I hope it gets better.

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