I used to believe that it could not be possible for me to hate a child. I couldn't imagine that there would be a child out there in the world that I could actually hate. I have found that child. He makes me so angry that I can feel the anger welling up in me with every passing second in his presence. I do not believe in yelling at a kid (unless it's the "he won't hear me unless I speak really loudly because there's too much noise around us" kind of situation), I believe in being firm. I yell at least once during every class that I have with him. Are there children that I have met that I don't particularly like? Yes. There's the junior high boy that is just annoying, I don't like him, but I do not hate him. There are other children that I have met elsewhere that I have not enjoyed being around, they're annoying, they're spoiled, they're obnoxious, but I do not hate them. There are some students that I wish weren't in my classes, but if invited to go to the park with their family I would probably go and we would run around in circles and be quite content. As with many people (young and old alike), there are many that I meet that I don't particularly like due to circumstances and if we were in different situations I would probably at least have a civil relationship with, if not more. There are some people who if you never saw them again you probably would never think of them again. I'm sure I could think of some, but their presence in my life is so inconsequential that I have forgotten about them. I could conceivably never see this child again, and I would never bemoan the loss, in fact I would rejoice. I look forward to Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 when the Japanese government has decreed that I must leave the country, and therefore never see this child ever again. There is my most dreaded class of High School kids on Mondays that I would much rather teach one class every day from now until the day I leave, than to have to teach that one kid in his class one more time.
So Michelle, how was your day?
Well, see I have this class of these really great kids that could be learning a lot, but then there's this kid...
