Today I had a bit of a disaster class.
It's a new English class I took over just last week, with only two children signed up (I normally have groups of 8-10), both of whom are really quiet, and it's hard to do anything with them.
Having discovered this problem last week, I thought this week I'd be extra prepared.
I brought extra materials, my favourite games and even bribes for them, to try to entice them to join in, but it just ended up being even worse than before!
One of the two children was sick, so after a lot of persuasion I managed to get the other child to come to English, under the condition that he could bring his brother with him. About five minutes in, they both started asking "wo ist mama?" (where's mummy?), and from there it just went downhill. I simply couldn't do anything to entice them to go along with the lesson plan that I'd made! Lesson plan virtually aborted, I then attempted in various different ways to regain control, but then they started crying and... well... yes. Absolute disaster.
I was frustrated, a little upset, and rather disappointed in myself, to be honest!
What on earth are you supposed to do with a class like that?
So I then resolved on my journey home that comfort food was needed. Real, homemade Italian gelato ice cream, to be specific.
Yes, that's right. One of those really cold, melt-in-the-sunshine, give-you-brain-freeze-but-you-love-it-anyway, beach-holiday-appropriate type treats you can buy everywhere on a hot summers day, and nowhere after about the beginning of September (or so I thought!).
Am I crazy? Yes.
Was it worth it? Definitely.
In spite of the brain freeze, and the coughing fit I endured when a piece of waffle cone went down the wrong way, I would still argue that the moral ambiguity surrounding the consumption of ice cream in 11 degrees Celsius are totally outweighed by the satisfaction of enjoying the self-awarded comfort food, knowing that I have people I can turn to for help in how to turn this class into a success, and knowing that next week it will be better.
Until then, meine Lieben,
Alles Liebe,
Louise x
