180 days as a teacher

FRUSTRATION... that's the only word that can describe today.

Only 4 teaching periods, bright sunshine, not too hot, not too cold, and yet, frustration is the only feeling that lingers...

So there's that darn group of girls who seem to have landed from another planet - they're completely different from the other 77 girls I have.

They are the same age, same gender, same biological functioning as far as I can tell, and yet, they can't seem to concentrate for more than 2 seconds in a row, and many can't seem to control their jaw muscles long enough such that their tongue is immmobile and they are QUIET.

I encourage participation in the class - but they seem to prefer whispering unrelated things to one another.

And even when they aren't yapping uselessly and annoyingly, when they are all quiet and appear focused on the right topic, not a single one of them, not one out of the 26 girls, no one wants to answer questions, suggest an explanation or attempt to participate in any shape or form.

By contrast, in the three other groups, the girls are happy, well-adjusted and eager to answer questions. Many even share personal experiences of this and that, the class is more interesting, and the whole process is invigorating.

The easy way out for me would be to go into that classroom, do my thing, and leave. And not care. That's the hard part - I've always cared about what I do and the outcome always matters to me.

Comatosed students are boring, and constantly whispering students are insufferable.

These darn kids have figured out a way to combine these two things such that the result is the perfect teacher torture...