opinios

"Indifference and Lethargy"

A lot of schools have a school motto.

You know, an inspiring catchphrase that is supposed to motivate students to live up to the ideals of the school's forefathers, blah blah. My old high school's motto was written in Latin: "In Dies Diligentius" (Working More Diligently Day By Day).

My regular elementary school's motto should be "Indifference and Lethargy". Today I was in a good mood and feeling lively so I had a bit of a sing song with the students. I had them doing The Hokey Pokey, I had them speeding through Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. All this without any backing tape (the CD player they have provided me with is old and has never worked).

They loved it (of course they did, they're kids). One boy was so excited he punched me in the nads while he was dancing (he is actually a good student and I'm sure didn't intend to express his affection in such an unusual way - he was just so damn filled with joy).

However, the homeroom teachers just stood there and watched, expressionless. But it wasn't that they looked annoyed that I was stealing the show with my gaijin energy; it wasn't like they resented me being there. They just didn't care, either way.

When it was all over they said, in a monotone voice, thankyou and left. And that was that. I sighed, gathered my teaching materials, and pulled the door closed to the classroom.

At which point the door handle promptly fell off.