Hi Readers,
Another caveat and cliche: "Be careful what you wish for." Director N couldn't make it on time for her 1:30 class ( same subject but different students ) so she called Secretary V to give me the "Go" sign to teach her 2nd class. "Definitely!" was my final answer. The 2nd class session didn't go as smoothly as the first. In the moment, it wasn't a pleasant experience; all I was thinking about was "keeping" it together and completing the mission. Now that I'm reflecting on it, the discomfort is a learning experience. ( surviving it, I can now laugh about it )
Some factors to consider. Unlike the 1st group, this was the first time I met the 2nd group. I've been with group 1 since the beginning of the semester, so there are some connection. Also according to Secretary V, I also had "proper" introduction to group 1 ( establishing an "authority" status in spite of my youthful look ). On the other hand, group 2 just had lunch ( jacked up on the sugary diet of typical college students ), and it was Friday afternoon. Why should they bother with an unfamiliar substitute teacher, who was getting in the way of their weekend?
In all honesty the discomfort wasn't caused by the majority of the class; it was because of the "student from hell" ( as termed by Palmer J. Parker ). This student "egged" on the class and the class further encouraged his actions through laughter. He answered all the recall questions I asked, and when I tried to get a discussion going the rest of the students didn't want to disagree with him. In a sense, they were resigned; they also didn't want to deal with his "hyper-ness" so they convened in their small group just to make it through class ( so future actions will involve small group works ).
I did think the situation got out of hand for a moment. He was running around, drawing on the board, napping on the ground, and trying to surprise me ( as if he was going to attack ... even if he was the same height as me, he was stockier ). My cousin said that he was KSP ( kulang sa pansin = looking for attention ). One of the reasons why he persisted in "surprising" me was because I reacted (flinched) the first time he did it. The other times he did it, I just stood there ( so if he did punch me, it'd probably hurt ).
In general, I was just surprised by his behavior because it went against my notion of typical college behaviors ( some may be immature, but they don't act as if they're still in kindergarten ... even my godchild who's just beginning 1st grade doesn't act like this ). This case is a first for me; other conflicts I had with disgruntled students dealt mostly with grades. I'm just glad that I had a nice delicious and heavy lunch before going to this class. Whereas group 1 lifted my spirits and energized me, group 2 ( mostly because of KSP ) drained me; afterwards, I was just glad to go straight to my cousin's house and enjoy the weekend.
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