No more students' dirty looks...

The school year ended without major incident. It also ended with my promise to return next year (much to the surprise of EVERYONE who heard me complain all year). My mother in particular wanted to make sure that I realized what I was signing up for, again. My principal promised to let me teach a beginning Japanese class next year as well. I'm fairly excited about that. That's not the only reason I'm coming back. Memory loss must play in somewhere. I really want to be better than I was. I like the kids yadda yadda yadda. I hate job hunting. I appreciate financial stability (such as it is) yadda yadda yadda. I can't guarantee that it will be my last year. I thought the year before last was my last. I think I'm going to keep living from year to year. It's worked out so far.

This year my first class of freshmen will graduate. Not all of them, but many of them. It's an inspiring thing to see. Many of the students are the first in their families to graduate from high school. Then they go on to college! Something that I took for granted all my life is a big freakin' deal to these kids. It makes you want to be better than you've been; achieve something great.

My Algebra students took the first ever "Integrated Algebra Regents Exam" and did very poorly indeed. When the year ended we still didn't know how many passed because a scale hadn't yet been created. The test was much more difficult than its preceder Math A. Thirty kids (they all showed up like they had an appointment whether or not they had bothered coming to class throughout the year. it's sophomore year when they realize that no one forces them to take these tests) sat for that test hating me and blaming me for the fact they didn't know enough to pass. I guarantee that none of them considered the various warnings i gave them throughout the year about the difficulty of the test and the necessity of studying. Most of them will change a lot this summer. The summer after freshmen year is magical. They come back with the ability to think rationally and a bit of respect for their teachers and fellow students. It's really astounding. Can't wait.