omg i've never met someone who wanted to be a teacher
I understand your reaction, but seriously, if you just have fun with it, it can be great. I just try to make sure my students don't fall asleep.
My favorite story:
We were discussing about Maus in my literature class. We're about fifteen minutes into the class, nobody is talking, not even my regulars (you know, the kids you can always count on to speak, whether they say something intelligent or not). So I give up and jump up on my desk, shouting, "JESUS, PEOPLE! THIS BOOK KICKS A*S--HOW CAN YOU NOT WANT TO TALK!" And then I jump down and start pacing around the front of the room, waving the book in the air and channeling Jesse Jackson: "The Reverend McG will preach to you the gospel of Maus--can I get an amen!"
They're all laughing by now--from shock, mostly--but no one says anything (I know they're all thinking, "The woman has
lost it")--so I say it again: "Can I get an AMEN?" Then a couple of people say: "A-amen?"
This sounds crazy, and it was, no doubt, but it totally worked. We had our best discussion that day. Sometimes you just have to shock them into giving a sh*t.
But the thing is, most of my students are freshmen or sophomores, so I've still got to deal with hormones. It's worse in college, though, 'cause the majority are on their own for the first time in their lives.
They've had a taste of freedom, and then I have to try to rein them in again.