bachillerato

So, I have worked the last two Mondays to make up for my parents being here (Cool, thanks Mom... I don't like having five day work weeks either). Yesterday I worked with two bachillerato classes and a fourth year class. These niños were all strangers, so I didn't really do anything- just stood in front of the class and chatted with them. Of course, this led to some standard questions that I've now come to expect- "Do you have a boyfriend? Do you listen to Snoop Dogg? Which is better, American boys or Spanish? What is your favorite Spanish food? Where is Boston?"

Now, I think I've explained the bachillerato situash before. Basically, kids that are definitely going to college are in bachillerato, which gears them up for the biggest test of their lives, which determines what major they can go into in college, ie determining their future entirely. The bachillerato classes at IES Bezmiliana are further divided by subject- there's the equivalent of arts and sciences, a natural science course, I don't really know what else.

One of my kids asked me, "Do you know what you are going to be when you go home?"
Unfortunately for him, this is a hot button topic... so I immediately fired back with, "No, do you?"
He's going to be a chemistry teacher. Cool, he's 17 and has it all figured out. Sorry for getting a little snappy, bro.

Also, for the first time, I was kind of mean to some of my students! I, naturally, blame it on the fact that it was 830 am on a Monday and I am used to a three day weekend, and furthermore, never working before 930 am. But they kept talking while I was trying to converse with some kids in the back row. Finally, I said, "You are only talking right now because you are trying to think of another question to ask, right? ...No?... Okay, then be quiet."

Exhilarating.