Thursday afternoon means taking massive transit down to the Southside to teach dance to 6th graders for 2 hours. This is generally a tricky proposition with the kids, who have been at school since 8AM, and expected to retain some shred of attention span till 6.
My class size has fluctuated anywhere from 10-28. Unfortunately, the school keeps changing the format of their after-school programs, as well as their offerings. Somehow, Dancing has to compete with Construction. And construction is where the cool kids are. I have seen students of mine slink out of the cafeteria to join construction. And without any attendance sheets or clout, there is really no stopping them.
Unfortunately, the kids left in my class are not so much the ones who really want to dance as much as the ones who just aren't slick enough. I have also discovered that I am forced to be the Bad Cop, because I actually make them dance instead of lounge around or take millions of bathroom breaks, like Mr. Lamar (my co-teacher) will let them do. Then he comes in and puts on some hip-hop and teaches them a line dance they all love. Happy to see them excited about dancing. Not so happy about always having to be the bad guy.
But it was fun to watch. They have all these steps (with names like Chicken Noodle Soup), and they just bust out. Very dance-off.
(I would have posted this on Thursday after teaching, but I was mega slug who pretty much went to bed before some of the 6th graders I teach.)
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