Among Schoolchildren

As I write this, the girls of my boarding house just been put to bed. I shadowed the other resident as she roamed the hallways, admonishing the youngest girls for being rambunctious and clarifying to the older ones that yes, indeed, it's time for lights-out, yes, your bedtime's 10:30, yes it's 10:30 now, go to bed, Poppy, turn off your fairy lights, good night, girls.

And tomorrow I actually teach them. Several of the ones I just put to bed are in my first class, actually. We'll see how that goes.

For my lesson, I have a little course description all typed up, along with their first assignment. They are to write me 400 words on the following question(s):

Are stories safe? Can they be dangerous?

I got the idea from a Eudora Welty quote, which I include on the assignment, about Welty's mother being relieved Eudora had chosen to be a writer of stories, "for she thought writing was safe." It may be a bit abstract for 14 year olds, but I'd like to see how they handle it.

I also have to administer a spelling test, which slingshots my memory right back to fifth grade (spaghetti, if you're wondering which word I'll never get wrong again).

I've been told by other teachers to be Very Strict for the first fortnight. Minimal smiling. Get right to the lesson. None of this chatting about where-you're-from and learning of names. Children love boundaries, and if I'm not abundantly clear about mine from the get-go, they'll walk all over me. I get the sense, from others' advice, that the ideal first lesson would be a rather grim and abrupt one. I will try to find a balance between me and the "ideal."

Wish me luck, and we'll hope for a well-oiled machine of a lesson.