little rebels

After all the build-up wondering how different it would be teaching "at-risk" students, I'm pleasantly surprised by how similar it all is. Kids are kids, whether poor or rich, black or white, from Minnesota or from California.

There are a couple little rebels in my classes, but honestly they're pretty tame. Most of the students seem pretty likeable. There's a boy who loves to read Edgar Allen Poe, a girl who wants me to read everything she's ever written including her science homework, a kid with one earring who acts super cool and writes about how you shouldn't let people bully you, another who admires her single mom for keeping food on the table, and the boy who spontaneously thought about a really funny movie he saw last night and couldn't keep from laughing.

So, yeah, it's good to be back.