Graduation of the Sand and the Sun

So I just got home from graduation. Since the story of Sand and Sun is coming to an end in my life (see links to previous stories by clicking on the 1, 2, 3, and 4) I thought it might be a good idea to tell an old story. The conversation went something like this:

Sun: I got my license! (with much excitement)

Sand: Can we go driving together? I will pick you up! (with much hope)

Sun: No Sand, leave me alone Sand. (with much annoyance)

So as the once sixteen year olds slipped by in their senior year, our senior Sun was voted best dressed girl in her class, and it was mentioned in the final remarks from the valedictorian that Sand had paid him a dollar to mention him in his speech.

That would have been a great way to end the saga...had I kept up with it...but I didn't so there very well could be more little snippets of the relationship to come.

A Free Day?!

So despite recent posts of fun and games with my students, I consider my classes to be hard work. I would argue that they are good college prep classes in fact. I try to make the students work hard at something they usually don't like and it pretty much always comes at a time when they don't want to do it...well that is always for most teenagers.

Despite my desire for them to work hard I recognize and accept that most of them don't want to be there and likely don't like Spanish. I am okay with that, I had to take many classes over the years that I didn't want to take or that I didn't enjoy. I am never offended when I hear a student say "no offense but I hate Spanish". I am, however, appalled when I hear a student ask "can we have a free day?"

Yes they ask this from time to time; and they mean it, sometimes argue it as if they had a valid case in which I should just sit down and let them do nothing.

The problem is the more they argue the more I want to give it to them because the more they argue the more I realize they honestly don't care. They don't care about the class, they don't care about their grade, they don't care if they learn to work hard, they just don't care. Now I realize that not all of my students do this but enough of them do that I get discouraged.

Lets consider for a moment what would happen if I decided to take a free day.

1) If I took a free day I would probably want another one (If I choose to take another one go to 2A, if not go to 2B)

2A) Then I would want another one (If I choose to take another one go to 3, if not go to 2B)

3) Again, I would want another one (If I choose to take another one go to 4, if not I'd go to 2B)

4) I would continue downward until eventually loosing my job, have to decide if I liked being lazy enough to continue downward until loosing my house, loosing all motivation, deciding I was worthless and give up or go live at my parents, get a job at some retail place that paid enough to sustain my life while I...see 2B.

2B) Suck it up, work hard, learn to love it or grow from it and keep it up until I can move on to something else.

Moral of the story is, if you need a free day suck it up, work hard, learn to love it or grow from it and keep it up until you can move on to something else. Or at the very least until you hit vacation. It will be that much more rewarding if you do.