01/12/09

In 6th grade today the students asked when I would bring more candy. I told them I wasn't sure because I had already handed out all the candy that I had brought from the States. Randy said, "You could buy some downtown because you have money." I asked him how he knew that I have money. He said, "We know you have money because you change your clothes." It came as a bit of a wake-up call to me. I mean, obviously, I have more money than any 6th grader, and most 6th graders probably think their teachers (as well as their parents) can buy whatever they want. So, I asked the question just to see what his reasoning was. I always seem to be blown away by what the students notice. Of course, it is hard to tell which students are better off than others because they always wear a uniform so I wouldn't know how many different outfits they have. I do know that the number is most likely low and one reason for the uniforms is to help make them all even. To keep the poorer kids from getting made fun of for not having as much as the other students. In any case, it was a reminder of how little some have and how I can easily become calloused to my surroundings.

On a funny note, I had given a quiz this week and as I have mentioned most sixth graders draw on the back of their papers. Today, I was walking around and Catiana had finished early so she was writing on the back of her quiz. She had written, "All boys is bad". I had to laugh because I was reminded of the "boys vs. girls" attitude of elementary students and all of the sayings such as "Boys are cool...girls drool" and so on. So, instead of telling her that, "No, not all boys are bad" I just corrected her and said, it isn't "is" but "are". "All boys are bad". She just laughed and said, "Oh yes" and started erasing "is" in a hurry to correct it. 6th graders are hilarious.