The First Days of School

Ok, so I've already said that I work in a mansion. That mkes life grand enough. You can't complain when you wake up every day and go to a mansion!
Yesterday was the first day of school. My students were so well behaved it was scary. They all sat down without me telling them to at the beginning of class. They listened when I called out (notice I said called, not yelled) "attention please." They took notes on my PowerPoint presentation without me telling them to do so. I didn't have to yell, not even once, not even a little bit.
At lunch, I hurriedly consulted my mentor to see if they were lulling me into a flase sense of security. He told me that no, that wasn't it, the school just had good kids. Hmmm... Good kids... I couldn't help but regard him with an air of suspicion at the idea, but I accepted his answer and walked away prepared for the worst because after lunch I had 8th grade.
For all of you no educators out there, 8th graders are the equivalents of high school seniors- arrogant, been-there-done-that attitude, top of the heap sense of entitlement, and constant faking of maturity at the most inopportune times. In essence, the joy of any Middle School teacher's life! Eighth graders are the reason that teachers at other grade levels think Middle School teachers are crazy. These kids have more mood swings than Lindsay Lohan on a bender to cure her PMS! You can never tell which way the day will go at that age!
My eighth graders were perhaps, my best class all day. There were about 20 of them and they were calm, quiet, and studious. They were even too timid to laugh at my jokes- and I'm damn funny! I couldn't believe it! I really have died and gone to teacher heaven!
I only had 1 bad class- 8th period. They were a bunch of squirrels! Chatty, a bit off task, lethargic... That's what I'm talking about! That's what I'm used to- kids who are sick of being in school & don't give a shit! Not quite that at this school, but as close as I think I'll ever get. I had one kid who, while I was talking, drew pictures in his notebook, then stopped my lesson by raising his hand and saying, "see. Modern art." He has to be on something! He did it at least twice. He's in my homeroom class too, so I think it was even more than that over the course of the day.
He's my chief squirrel. Today, I emailed his parents because he was late to both my English class, and afternoon homeroom check in yesterday and the nurse caught him playing in the hall today. He is my only problem student, and he's not really even a problem if I ignore him. Most of the kids thanked me for the lesson as they left. I was stunned! Really, I might not ever leave.