Today I told my students that due to interpreter cost-cutting measures at the European Union, the French language would be abolished and all French speakers would be forced to learn Chinese or English.  The reactions of my first two classes was predictable: "Would I have to retake my language credit?" and "Dang miss you gon' be outta job!!"  But the kids in my 8th period were actually excited.  "Ooooooh snaps!  I'ma do Chinese!!"

Of course it was "poisson d'avril", or April Fool's Day, but the reactions were strong.

Which makes me think that our language program of simply French and Spanish is definitely under-serving the curiosity of our students.  In related news, we are getting a new faculty member soon because of the number of students coming from our feeder schools expanding (almost doubling).  Can you speak Spanish as a native and at least one other language, preferably Chinese or Latin, and do you have your certification in Pedagogy in Texas?  No?  Neither does anyone else.  I hope we get someone at least close to able to meet our needs and who wont run screaming from our disrespectful kids. 



In other news, two days ago I went through about 20 minutes of an exam in one period without realizing that there was a small boy (a student at the school but not in any of my classes) crouching underneath a table where his friends were sitting.  I'm sure he thought he could talk and joke around, but during tests the room is completely silent, so he was just sitting there.  Eventually I saw a kid looking under the table quite a bit and finally saw the little twerp.  Sigh.

And as far as stories of my naivete go:  We are studying reflexive verbs in spanish, one of which is "peinarse," to comb one's hair.  Well we were working with the negative commands (aka, "don't comb your hair") and the form that this specific verb takes is:
No te peines.

Every time I went over this the class would burst out laughing.  Unfortunately, it was not until the very last period that I realized this phrase sounds vaguely like "No the penis."  I didn't laugh in class but had quite a chuckle after the students left.  Can't believe it took me that long.

At  this point (late summer 2008) I was eligible to start applying to school districts.  I went to several fairs, and had a promising interview with a school in the suburbs.  As a back-up, I applied to the same high school I went to.

Although I think people use it as an excuse far too often, the economy at this point was taking a nose-dive. People were being laid off from corporate jobs left and right, and the education sector was suddenly seeing hundreds of applications for every position.  Job fairs had lines out the door.

The suburb school never called, meanwhile my Alma Mater was waiting for an interview.  So I traipsed back into my old high school, immediately all the office workers were asking about my family and how I had been since 2004 when I graduated.  In the interview, the dean hired me on the spot.  She didn't even call in the principal to the meeting because "She already knows you're a good kid."  (Wow... I must have been a little dweeb... let's get some photo evidence on that)

She might have also been impressed by the Magna Cum Laude degree (cough, cough).  But most of all, the fact that I graduated from this particular school meant that I knew what to expect:  Metal detectors at every entry point, city police officers with their own office in the school,  lead-based paint peeling off the walls, and a very sad teacher's lounge.  Home sweet home!

Two days after I signed my contract, the suburb school called for an interview.  As the Germans say... scheiße!


Anyway, I had a job with my old high school and 4 weeks before school started.  It was time for district-specific training.