Survival

Today was the first meat and potatoes day at my co-ed group of eighth graders. we are meeting weekly this year, but still during a twenty minute advisory period. Last week was canceled and the week before i wound up yelling at the kids because two of the new ones got into it(he called me fat, she told me to shut up, none of you should be talking! i was talking! i will turn this car around without ice cream!) So i went in with minimal expectations...and so they were greatly exceeded! The first half was paperwork catch up and the last ten minutes were "sexuality review." Which basically amounted to a rousing discussion of the changes experienced in puberty. One young lady responded "its when boys start wetting the bed again!" To which I replied "that's not exactly what happens. That is called a wet dream...anyone know what a wet dream is?" a young man, we'll call him Sam, replied "its when a guy ejaculates in his sleep." This may not seem like much to you, but you have to understand that Sam has been suspended 4 times this year(that I know of) and just looks like a baby bad ass. The other boys were doing things like yelling "CUM!" (though i will admit, it was usually yelled as a reasonable response to a question) or making volcanic hand gestures. Or both at the same time. To the point where I got up and closed the door(and apologized to the 6th grader at her locker outside). So when Sam gave this matter of fact answer using accurate terminology, I turned to him, gave him a high five and said "Wow Sam, you could totally run this class!" It was hilarious. And just what i needed. I usually feel pretty freaked out heading to this school because sessions rarely go well(mostly due to the limited time). We're going on a field trip in a couple of weeks, so I needed a boost before taking them out in the community.