Wednesday, September 12, 2007

"Nice" v. "Easy" v. "Amazing"

At my school, most students really come to learn. I think, however, that the freshman have yet to recognize this characteristic within themselves. It's easy for me to understand that. After all, us nerds go through middle school trying pretty darn hard to hide the fact that we would rather be doing math or studying history than gossiping in the hallways or playing sports. Now, though, after a full year of getting that shyness thoroughly stamped out of me, the freshmen's attitude is pretty odd to deal with.

Just this morning, I overheard a conversation between two freshmen. Of course, they felt the need to include me in it. Just what I need--a conversation with freshman rather than sleep.

Patricia's Bus Conversation

Cast of Characters
  • J: Somewhat arrogant, a bit of a show-off. Freshman.
  • D: Don't know him. Doesn't say much here. Freshman.
  • Me: Practically perfect in every way. Sophomore.
J: Oh my god! My English teacher is insane! She gave us so much homework!

D: Really? I, like, don't have any!

Me: [thinking, "Welcome to BCA, freshman."]

J: [deciding to bother me] Hey is *teacher* hard?

Me: Dunno. Never had her. [turns away quickly]

J: Wait, who'd you have?

Me: *teacher2*

J: Was he hard?

Me: Yup.

J: That sucks.

Me: Not really. I learned so much.

J: Well, was he nice?

Me: No, he was sadistic, cynical, and sarcastic. It was amazing.

J and D: [confused freshman looks on their faces]

Other non-freshmen bus riders: [thinking: "She's right. But why are they talking when they could be sleeping???"]

The End.

The lesson of this? Yes, my teacher was hard. He graded to kill. His favorite phrase was "I want you to have more work and me to have less work." But he's still the best teacher I've ever had, and his class was the best ever. And the freshmen will soon learn that Nice doesn't mean Enjoyable.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, you kind of learn to accept that there always exists to qaulities in every teacher. One is how much fun you enjoy in his classes, and the other is the grade you get. It's annoying how these two traits never really seem to relate to one another, or rather, are inversely related...