Bratty Children, Wishful Thinking Cuisine, and Fighting Terriers

Sound interesting?

That was my day!

What to talk about first...okay, I'll go in order of them happening.

Bratty Children: My 2nd period class on Wednesday, as I mentioned in my previous post, is a hair-raising group. I'm talking a volatile mix of children that seriously needs to be reconsidered. Other teachers have this exact group and they are feared and loathed by all who come in contact. I'm not kidding. Today was the third time I've seen this group, and I finally got to go over my class expectations!

How?

I dearly wish I could answer that with "Because I suddenly turned into Super Woman!" but that would be lying. I simply asked for help.

Each period there is a different Senior Management Team member on call, to assist teachers. They're not really known for always being available (*sigh*) but I specifically asked Laura (who would be on call during 2nd period) to walk by my room and help if it appeared I needed it. I showed her my class list. Her eyebrows shot up (it truly is a horrid mix of children) and she promised to pay a visit.

Before she could even visit, I sent for her. These children (they're year 9, 13-years-old) are so disruptive. I could not get one second of control in that room. So Laura showed up, shut my classroom door, and reamed them. I mean, she lit into them for their misbehaviour. Then, as she left, she said, "I'm going to stop by towards the end and if you're not giving Miss Cooper the respect she deserves, you're going to answer to me!"

I wish I could say they settled down and became beautiful children, but they did not. They were worse.

When Laura came by again, it was to find me about ready to scream (though I think I did an admirable job of hiding that from the children). This time, the reaming worked. When she left, I had the complete and utter attention of children who did not want their name put on my white board.

Third week of classes and I finally went over my expectations. We'll see how next week goes.

Thank God my other classes (Friday 5th period being the notable exception) are easy to manage!!!

Fighting Terriers: As you know by now, Kathy, my landlady, has four dogs. They're great. Very well-trained and sweet. Rosie and Tommy are rat terriers. Very cute, but lately, they've been fighting, a disturbing new trend in this house. Rosie is older and very cranky, and when Tommy plays, she gets annoyed, snaps, and they end up locking their jaws on whatever they can reach--ears, legs, etc.

When Kathy and I got home today (we left school the same time so she gave me a ride), we were dismayed to find dog hair chunks on the living room carpet, and two quivering rat terriers. Tommy has a wound on his leg, and his limping. Rosie has a wound to her ear. Kathy cleaned them up, alternately sympathetic to their pain and annoyed at their new-found tendency to fight with one another. She'll probably keep them separated when no one is home from now on. Rosie likes to sleep upstairs on her own anyway, so it looks like there will be a baby gate out each day (previously reserved for grandchildren visits).

Anyway, we've been fussing over them a bit, as they're both in some discomfort. It was absolutely horrifying what they did to each other!

Wishful Thinking Cuisine: After all of this excitement, it's only natural I needed some good ole comfort food. Namely, as close to Mexican as I can get. That's why it's called Wishful Thinking Cuisine. Because Mexican food is hard to come by this side of the pond.

My grocery order from Tesco (see yesterday's blog update--hey, two days in a row, I'm getting better!!) came this evening, and I excitedly dug in to my enchilada sauce, sour cream, and tortillas. I made chicken enchilada casserole, layering (lasanga-style) the sauce, cheddar cheese, onion, bell pepper, spinach (for the nutrients!), chicken, tortillas, sour cream, and olives. After baking it, I added ricotta cheese (ran out of cheddar) and grean onion to the top and stuck it in the oven for 5 more minutes.

Delicious! And it will last for days. No cooking for Meg!

But it's not truly Mexican food. I'm kind of missing that. But it's close enough for now.

In Conclusion: Today has been a good day (bratty children and fighting terriers aside) and I'm feeling better than I was yesterday. I was a bit homesick all day and called Mom and Dad last night. When we hung up, I got a bit teary. So I put in my "break open in case of emergencies--general" CD from Heather and the other choir gals, brought out my infamous scrapbook (I knew that thing would do the job!) and hugged Harry Bear. Harry Bear is an absolutely adorable, extremely huggable, £5 teddy bear I found at Woolworth's a couple weeks (a fortnight!) ago. Couldn't resist him. Sometimes you just need to hug something. His name is Harry because he's hairy. And Harry Bear has a nice ring. And Sarah and Heather can stop laughing--the name has nothing to do with Harry Potter!

Well, I'm exhausted...it's almost bedtime!

Tomorrow is all year 7 classes (11-year-olds). Yay!

Cheers,

Meg