The first days with my group are behind me. I think it’s going to be a great group, despite its relatively large size (22 students). They’re all adolescents in the 13-14 year age range. In our first homeroom lesson, I asked them to do a write-up of their plans and expectations for the coming school year. I asked them to e-mail it to me once they got home, and the results were both funny and touching. Here are some of the things they wrote:
I would like to be less grumpy, because you’ll only get discussions that lead nowhere.
I would like to go to [a higher level] next year, because I really want to go to the fashion trade school in Hilversum or Amsterdam.
And if I think something’s difficult, for example, or something’s bothering me, that we can always go to our teacher. First I’d have to try it myself, of course, then ask someone from our group and then go to the teacher.
I would really like to change my behavior at tennis. I can get mad sometimes during the game. I don’t get mad at my opponent, but at myself. That’s why I sometimes throw my racket. This is something I really don’t want to do. I want to transfer my anger into positive energy.
I want to try my very hardest. I you don’t try, nothing will happen and you can say good bye to your grades.
We have a great [football/soccer] team and we think we’ll be able to become champion.
I’m going to clean up my room and clean my fish bowl and I’m going to spend less time on my laptop. I’ll eat more vegetables, if my mom will make it, and I’m going to try to go to bed on time.
I want to be able to look at my report card and tell myself: “I told you, you could do it!”
I want to work at a rose nursery or to do a paper round, because I’ll be 14 this year and I’ll be able to get a job. I want that job so I can buy some new games for my Xbox, and so that I’ll have some extra money to spend.
I have changed a lot, because I always got detention at primary school. This doesn’t happen anymore, because I really want to change.
I would really like to go skydiving. I think it would be fun to try some time.
I’m going to watch less TV and do more homework. Well, I’ll try, because I like the TV very much even when I’m writing this.
And I’m planning to do more drawing, so I can get better at drawing stuff by heart without the use of a picture.
I looked at my books for German and I thought it looked a bit difficult, so I hope I’ll manage to get good grades.
I hope we’ll do lots of fun stuff with our class and that we’re going to have a good time together.
I truly hope that all their wishes will come true. And this is My Wish: