Saturday, July 28, 2012

Ah, sweet memories

Two of my most unpleasant working years were spent teaching high school in Brooklyn, right after I graduated from Columbia. This video reminded me of one day...



One of the boys in the front row was pulling off stuff whenever my back was turned and laughed when I reprimanded him. Not for the first time. I told him that next time it would not be funny. I turned back to the board and he made a fart noise.

All I remember next is that he and I were in the back of the classroom, up against the back wall and he was on the floor, with his hands covering his head  and I was standing over him.

Honest to God, I have no memory of how we both got there.

High school teaching. Like living in a Kafka novel. I guess that day, like the guy in the video, I'd just had enough.

Like this teacher!

1 comment:

Leah said...

Good for this teacher and good for you. There are times when a slap is just what the kids needs. Having no fear of punishment doesn't make better humans -it makes obnoxious a-holes who ruin everything for everyone around them.
But then I'm not a liberal - I hit my own kids many a time - no lasting harm, good upstanding adults because of it.

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