Liveblogging Homeroom

As I sit at my desk lethargic kids wander in and out. Only three have yet taken their seats and each is listening to his iPod, staring blankly at the agenda on the board. It's one day until the final exam and they're feeling uneasy (or worse) at the prospect of answering 250 questions and still having time left to write a translation unseen.

The coffee isn't bad this morning. The administration can't afford the best, but some kind soul among the faculty occasionally brings in little packets of half-and-half in abundance, and that makes all the difference. I suspect that somewhere a 7-11 manager is scratching his head: 'I thought I'd just refilled that.' It's a good thing, too, because it's helping me to forget my hunger and the fact that I haven't brought any money today.

So what's on the agenda today? We'll have no Channel 1, no school news broadcast either, because of the principal's noble effort of promoting reading every Wednesday morning. They'll probably read the latest texts from their friends.

But today it's review. Practice with verb tenses, cases of nouns, and a new game of team translation: the kids with the highest grades will lead teams, but may not write anything. This should help to keep the other kids active while the captains coach. Maybe we should call them coaches instead.

It's just about time for the Pledge, so I'm out.