More Classroom Characters

When I run into friends I haven't seen in a while, one of the first questions is, "How are the kids?" There are a lot of appropriate answers to this question, but usually I say, "They're pretty good. I have a lot of characters this year though." Whatever that means is open to interpretation, but with 28 kids this year, it's certainly true. I introduced a few in October, which means more introductions are long overdue.

Ernest: This boy began the year as Baby Face's partner in crime. Over time, Baby Face's bullying compulsion effectively destroyed their alliance. Once I realized that Ernest found Baby Face's behavior as annoying as I did, I began to see him in a different light. His persistent inability to raise his hand before sharing an answer, and the fact that he needs directions repeated three to four times before he (maybe) gets to work are...vexing. Still beneath the constant need for reminders, there's an enthusiasm about learning and funny, disarming earnestness. If we could get the restlessness under control, he could be a star student.

El Molestador: This nickname sounds a lot worse than it is... Blame my shamefully limited Spanish for this one, but he gets his pseudonym based on one of the most common commands I give him, "Deja molestando los otros estudiantes." I can't begin to fathom how difficult it is to move to a new country to start a new life. This boy is hardly the only student to move from the Dominican Republic in my class, but that doesn't make the change from Santo Domingo to the Bronx any easier. Still, I don't understand his insistence on poking, pushing and generally bothering his classmates. He has several friends, and most of the students are all too willing to speak with him in Spanish. So, "isolation" doesn't quite cut it as an explanation. I want to help him with his transition into his new life as much as possible, but four months later it feels like half of our interactions are based on someone complaining that he's harrassing them.

Don Juan: This boy is a hopeless romantic. Thankfully he hasn't made an effort to act on his emotions with any of the girls in the class. Still, his dreamy, starry-eyed demeanor is evident in all sorts of discussions. Ask him for a retell of a story, observations on a piece of art, or feedback on a classmate's writing, and the L word appears invariably. It can be disheartening when it's clear he's totally misunderstood or ignored the question, but it's often hard to contain a smile at the same time.

So what do I mean when I say my classroom is full of characters? It depends on each student. So far I've introduced six of them. I'll try to get to the other 22 before June.


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