The Breakfast Club

As a teacher it is amazing to me the habits of teenagers. I am not that far removed from the high school scene, and I find it interesting to compare the habits of today's youngsters to those of my generation. I have a group of young gentlemen that like to hang out in my room each morning. I have lovingly started refering to them as 'The Breakfast Club,' a reference that is sadly lost on them since they have never seen the movie and have no idea who Molly Ringwald is. SAD! Anyway, their adoration for my room reminds me of the times I spent hanging out in Mr. B's room during lunch when I was in high school (who, coincidently, was MY English teacher). Does history in fact repeat itself? If so, I think the gender flip is quite interesting. There are few if any girls who are regulars in The Breakfast Club, just as there were few boys that consistantly hung out with me and the other girls that spent our lunch time in Mr. B's room. Rarely do I disturb the converstation the boys have in the morning, and I'm pretty sure Mr. B left us to our own devices in his room while he served lunch duty (ah! the good old days when kids could be trusted!). When I do stumble into the conversation, the boys are often appreciative. I use 'teachable moments' to introduce new vocabulary words like 'exacerbate' (which was a riot) and 'ruinous.' I'm amazed that these boys value my opinion when it comes to certian issues like girls (a rarity), video games and sometimes the occation school issue. Sometimes, however, I want to plaster a sign on my door that say, 'Unless you have a question about GRAMMAR I cannot help you. Go see you Guidance Counselor.'

The best moment to date was when the students insited on playing 'The Final Countdown' (the name of the band escapes me at the moment), and continued to wander into my room 'dooodling' the intro chords.....do do doooo doooo, do-do-do-do, do do doooo dooooo, do-do-do-do!