ruskiblog (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ruskiblog) wrote,@ 2006-09-11 12:11:00 |
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Look, Thanksgiving came early.
Yesterday I taught a lesson at the teen swing club which left me profoundly grateful for a few things:
1. I am not a teenager anymore.
2. I will never have to be a teenager ever again.
3. I will never have to date (or dance with) teenage boys ever again.
The kids I taught were overwhelmingly enthusiastic, delightfully open-minded, and massively uncoordinated. At least, the boys were. An hour of teaching them the Jitterbug Stroll produced a lot of smiles and giggles but not much resembling the actual Jitterbug Stroll. Plus, several of the boys had yet to be introduced to the magic of deoderant.
From a teaching perspective, it was very satisfying. I even got a high five from one well-mannered young gentleman, who proclaimed me to be an "intense teacher" and my lesson to be "awesome". Go me.
But oh these kids are so insecure. They are so consumed with their place in the social pecking order that their eyes practically brim with anxiety. It's almost painful to be around, and yet here I am contemplating a life working with these creatures. Still, it's reassuring to see clearly delineated the distance between me and them.
Yesterday I taught a lesson at the teen swing club which left me profoundly grateful for a few things:
1. I am not a teenager anymore.
2. I will never have to be a teenager ever again.
3. I will never have to date (or dance with) teenage boys ever again.
The kids I taught were overwhelmingly enthusiastic, delightfully open-minded, and massively uncoordinated. At least, the boys were. An hour of teaching them the Jitterbug Stroll produced a lot of smiles and giggles but not much resembling the actual Jitterbug Stroll. Plus, several of the boys had yet to be introduced to the magic of deoderant.
From a teaching perspective, it was very satisfying. I even got a high five from one well-mannered young gentleman, who proclaimed me to be an "intense teacher" and my lesson to be "awesome". Go me.
But oh these kids are so insecure. They are so consumed with their place in the social pecking order that their eyes practically brim with anxiety. It's almost painful to be around, and yet here I am contemplating a life working with these creatures. Still, it's reassuring to see clearly delineated the distance between me and them.
