Conversations with my Students (7)

My class is made up by many different types of people. 
Some of my students, like C, are extremely polite and considerate and for example they would never leave the room without letting me know first where they are going. 
That helps me a lot because all my students are my responsibility despite the fact they are all middle teens and are therefore quite capable to look after themselves. 
Others such as E are a big interrogation mark. They are quite unpredictable sometimes so the best thing to do if you have their type in your class is to keep them busy at all times or else…well things happen.
C: Teacher…
T: Yes?
C: I need to go to the restroom.
T: I was about to announce something important, C.
C: Mister, it’s really urgent.
T: Surely, you’re exaggerating.
C: No, it´s for real. I need to pee…
T: All right C, if you have to go you have to go.
Before I could finish C had already left.
E: Excuse me mister…eh, teacher.
T: Yes, E. What do you want?
E: Do we have to tell you what we are going to do when we go to the bathroom?
T: No, E of course not, it is a personal thing and definitely I don’t want to know those details, but C chose to tell me.
E: Oh, Okay. Sorry, teacher.
T: Well, class. Since the topic came out, please, if in the future you decide to tell me what you’re going to do, well… you don’t have to, but in any case if you’re going to, then refer to urinate as “Number one” and the… erm… other thing is “Number two”. OK?
At this time everyone was laughing at my indication, but still E had something to say.
E: Eh, excuse me mister, eh… teacher.
T: What is it now, E?
E: I was wondering, what if we don’t have to go to the W.C. for Number one or for Number two only?
T: What do you mean?
E: I mean, what if it’s both at the same time? Should we say like: “Hey, Mister. I’m going to the restroom... It’s urgent: I have a COMBO coming out!” 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are LAS TRES MARÍAS called in English?

Image
(Left to right:  Alnitak ,  Alnilam  and  Mintaka )  The TRES MARIAS is this group of three bright stars that are apparently at the same distance from one another though in reality none is at the same distance. They are called like that in most of Latin America and apparently they are called the THREE KINGS (the Magi) in the Philippine Islands. The TRES MARIAS after whom those stars are named are Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of Clopas (probably a relative of Jesus's). To find them in the sky means you are also looking at the constellation of Orion (the Warrior), to be more precise, its belt because that is precisely what the TRES MARIAS are called in English: Orion's Belt.
Read more

The Maps of Ship-Trap Island

Image
Once I had my high school students read The Most Dangerous Game, a short story by Richard Connell. Rainsford, the main character, is a professional hunter traveling by ship to his next hunting area, accidentally ends up in an island called Ship- Trap island. When he goes into the island he finds there are two men living in a palace in the island. One of them is a Cossack general and the other, his brutish servant.  The Cossack is called general Zaroff who is also  a game hunter but has become bored of hunting regular game and now uses the island's unique position to capture sailors from shipwrecks. He lets them go first and next after some time he hunts them down. Rainford's arrival who is worldwide famous presents Zaroff with a rare opportunity to find excitement in hunting again by hunting another hunter. Little does Zaroff know that Rainsford is The Most Dangerous Game in the World and hunting him will not be easy at all. My students enjoyed themselves at reading
Read more

How do you say NACIMIENTO NAVIDEÑO in English?

Image
"Oh no! Not another power blackout!"             NACIMIENTO NAVIDEÑO or PESEBRE NAVIDEÑO is a tradition which consists in recreating the moment of Jesus Christ's birth with small figures representing Joseph, Mary, the shepherds and the Wise Kings. Baby Jesus is set on December 25th of course, while the other figures are placed before, usually at the beginning of December.       The translation is NATIVITY SCENE, though some people only say CHRISTMAS SCENE. This last term is a bit broad -- even an image of Santa Claus riding his sleigh falls under that description. Saying CHRISTMAS NATIVITY SCENE would be perhaps more appropriate.                                                                                        Merry Christmas!     
Read more