Young Men's Club - 5/30/08 Season Finale

So today was my last day of teaching. I leave for Baltimore next week. It was a very bitter-sweet day. It was also pretty easy. Mainly due to the fact that, because it was my last day, I found it very difficult to be as strict as I normally am. Don't get me wrong. The rules were still enforced. I just didn't stress out about it. The day started with an incident that, oddly enough, didn't even involve my club. There were three girls in another club that were running around. I told them to stop. They stopped briefly and then started up again. They were having some bizarre disagreement. I think the strangest thing of all is that they were looking for adult intervention and I was the only one around. They finally just walked over to me and told me their story. And it was a long one. I gave each one of them the opportunity to talk. Then, like Solomon, I rendered judgement. Basically, they were all guilty of something and they all owed each other apologies. And that was the end of that. Funny how that worked out. They just wanted to be heard. The boys were a little rambunctious today. Nothing out of control, but definitely more energy than usual. Partly because of normal Friday energy and partly because today was their last chance to test me. Now the other reason why today was made easier was because the other after school program was giving a presentation. So I only had to entertain the kids for about 40 minutes. I took them outside and we ran the drumming pieces and recitals for the Spring show. After about 3 runs of each, I gave them about 20 minutes of free time. I personally found it very strange that one of them chose that time to play with his Nintendo DS. On top of that, most of the other kids chose to watch him play it. Basically, they chose video games over exercise. The presentation was not so great, but it killed time. At the end of the day, my supervisor made a nice little speech in front of everyone thanking me for the job that I had done over the course of the school year. I made an effort to give a special unique send off message to each of the boys. I shook each one's hand and told them all I was very proud. There were definitely a couple of long faces. I guess that the whole thing hasn't really hit me yet. It just seems so weird that I won't be going back there for the rest of the school year. I guess I've been going for so long that it felt like just another Friday. Or maybe I'm just in denial. I did try to soften the blow by assuring everyone that I'd be back in the Fall. I can't honestly say if that's true or not, but if nothing pops up on the career front, I would definitely go back there. It's a very good school and they are good kids. (For the most part) They drove me crazy at times and at other times they made me very proud. I hoped they learned a lot from me and I've definitely learned a lot from them. I do regret that I wasn't able to stick with them until the very end. But I am confident that they are going to do great. And so will I.

Until next Fall.

Young Men's Club - 5/29/08

Today was the penultimate day. I didn't have to make an announcement that I was leaving. News travels fast in an elementary school. The boys seemed to take the news well. There is already speculation as to who will take over the club. I honestly have no idea. I also, however, would be rather interested to know. Perhaps have the new person observe my club. I have no control over that. Anyway, another gorgeous day which meant another day outside. It was also spent mostly drumming. But this time I really tried to focus on proper technique. But I could only get so far. Most of them are only interested in hitting the buckets as hard as they possibly can. But a couple of them are actually pretty good. And I guess that's more than I can ask for. Next we worked on the drumming pieces for the show. Unfortunately, the quality of the performance seemed to have dropped. One of them, Jeremiah, always had some problems with tempo. Basically, he has absolutely no rhythm. Also, his mission seems to be to hit the drums as hard and as fast as possible. Which throws everyone off. But today, it really seemed like everyone was trying to play faster and faster. Basically, no one was listening to each other. I chose to chalk that up to the fact that it was getting late and it was a really nice day out. Both of which must have made it difficult to focus. In the end, I'm realizing that I have to just let it go. They will perform however they will perform. It will be good. It won't be great. Parents will be proud. Life will go on.

Drama Club - 5/28/08

Today was my last day of teaching Drama Club. It was all very strange. First of all, my announcement to the kids didn't go as I had planned. My replacement came in to observe my class. I chose to wait until the last possible moment to tell the kids that I was leaving. I thought that would make it an easier transition. I also didn't want to undermine my own authority. However, during snack time, my supervisor made the brilliant decision to introduce my replacement to the school nurse as MY REPLACEMENT. IN FRONT OF THE KIDS. He's a nice guy and all but give me a break. Why wasn't he thinking?! He soon corrected himself saying, "I shouldn't say that in front of the kids?" ( YOU THINK?! ) So there I was dealing with a bunch of jaw-dropped kids wondering if this news was true. I deflected the question until club officially started. It was a gorgeous day so we most definitely went outside. I broke the news to them there. I explained that, as they knew, I am a professional actor and that I had been offered a role in a Shakespeare play in Baltimore and that it starts next week. I also let them know that I had planned to return in the Fall. There were some groans of disapproval. There were many questions. There was a very brief sense that I wasn't in charge anymore. (I quickly put an end to that) There was a lot of jockeying for position to buddy up with the new teacher. I have to admit that I felt a little jealous about that. Oh how quickly their loyalties turn. We moved on to a classic beanbag game using the Hamlet speech. Then we went on to rehearse the show. Once again it was a 15 minute process that took about 35 minutes. We also played this cute little game to help the new teacher learn the kids' names. Each kid would say their name and then make a physical gesture. Then everyone had to repeat it. That was actually kind of fun. After that was done, the kids had about 15 minutes to play. After I brought them back, I gave the kids lollipops to help ease the pain of my departure. Just when my heart couldn't break anymore, as I was leaving the school, little Ashlee gave me a hug goodbye. I reassured her that I would be back in the Fall. Which, of course, would be a total lie if I make it big. Yes, I realize that you see through my jaded facade.

Young Men's Club - 5/22/08

Today's club was pretty much a piece of cake. That, of course, was due to the new policy of sending the poorly behaved kids out of the room. It just makes my life so much easier. The "Three Amigos" are no longer my concern. They get a very short leash. Nasir was the first to go. It seemed like he was trying at the beginning but he just couldn't keep it together. Basically, he's addicted to class-clownery. Next was Jourdan. It wasn't that he was doing anything major to piss me off. He just kept doing a bunch of little things over and over again. He'd start a little side conversation then back off; Give a little push to a kid and then back off; Finally, when he started making gross nasal noises, I had had enough. Did the punishment fit the crime? Who knows. I don't really care at this point. I am so tired of all of these clubs being about trying to keep him in line. Last was Christian. He was actually hanging in there for awhile. But in the end, he too could not control himself. It was a couple of little things to start. Then, when I was trying to speak, he began to openly play the drums. And that was that. I honestly don't know why these kids have to keep testing me every single day. What signals am I giving that says that I won't punish them if they misbehave? Oh well, if they want to learn the hard way, that's their problem.

Drama Club - 5/21/08

I'm in the home stretch. There's is only one week left before the school year ends for me. I spent today working on the final scene for the Spring show. It's a very simple little piece. They march in from opposite ends of the stage, shake hands with the other "team" and then one student gives a quick little speech that's at the end of the play. Despite the same deal that I always make with them, this still was a long process. I told them that if we got through it quickly, then we could play games for the rest of the time. Oh well. Also, the new policy change has made my life significantly easier. My site coordinator has given the green light on sending kids out of the class that aren't able to behave. So my typical problem kids are taken out of the room completely. I, of course, want to use it sparingly, but I'm more than willing to use it. Then there's this student Javelina. The good thing about her is that she actually has shown an inkling of interest in Drama. The bad news is that she's a diva. So on the one hand, I want her to be involved. On the other hand, she's very very difficult to work with. But I've found a solution. Whenever she starts becoming more and more of a diva, I simply ask this question of everyone in the room, "Would anyone else like to read this speech?" Of course, everyone raises their hands and she quickly realizes that she is not above reproach. Which I think is the best life lesson of all.

Young Men's Club - 5/13/08

I am counting down the days until I move on to my acting gig. But until then, there's a lot of work to do. The good news with the boys is that their work is pretty much done. There will be no new material that they'll have to learn. It's simply a matter of rehearsing what they already know. Which should have been simple. In fact, I made an announcement to them at the beginning of the club. I said that we would run the pieces for both the Spring and the Father/Son shows three times. After that, there would be free time to do whatever they wanted. Play games, go outside, whatever. All they had to do was get it together for about a half an hour. Well it didn't work out that way. They were so easily distracted. But the good news for me was that it didn't really matter. I knew that we were going to do what I wanted. It didn't matter if it took an hour. I repeatedly reminded them that they were cutting into their own play time. The unfortunate aspect of this policy is that the kids that do behave must pay the penalty of the three kids that don't know how to act. But they did get their comeuppance. When there was time to play, the rebellious kids had the distinct pleasure of sitting out.

Young Men's Club - 5/8/08

Today, I was somewhat of a rough day. It turns out that I will be leaving the school earlier than my commitment. So as a result, I've got a lot of loose ends to tie up. One of which is teaching the boys their lines for the Spring Show. Now here's the thing, as a professional actor, I understand that sitting down and learning lines is not fun. So you can imagine how it may feel for a group of 9 year-olds. But I just had to press on. I also went with a new tactic for trying to control their behavior. Rather than threaten them with what I would do specifically (whether it was a time out, a written notice, or telling their parent), I would instead give them a rather general threat. So if one kid would misbehave, I would smile and say, "Good. Keep doing that. Because it will help me remember how you've behaved today. And I've got something special planned for you." It was a pretty much a bluff. It's not like I'm going to do anything different than what I've already done. But the vagueness seems to work better. It allows their imaginations to kick in. Psychological warfare is the best. Also, I gave many many speeches about how actions speak louder than words. If they learn nothing else from me, it will be that.