Heading to Grade 7

Got the call last night.  The middle school was in need, they asked me to come back.  This time I was headed to Grade 7 Language Arts.  Middle school students like lots of room, they like to laugh and they like to talk.  They don't always like to do paperwork, though.  Sustained writing can give them a headache.
     As usual, I wrote my name on the board (Ms. Pleasant).  The first remark? "I heard you were really Ms. UN-Pleasant" they told me - I suggested they wait until the end of the day and then they could let me know.
    Today we're reading Jack London.  They had never heard of him.  When they heard he was the highest paid writer in the WORLD in 1913, I asked them to consider his salary against that of Stephen King (they didn't know him) or J.K. Rowling (okay, some of them had read Harry Potter).  They did, however, wonder why they were forced to read something that was written so long ago. 
   In a break during class, I grabbed a quick bite to eat.  It would be inside lunch recess today (as we received 20 inches of snow yesterday), so I had to eat on the run.  A couple of cheese sticks, my bottle of water, a cereal bar, and an apple.  Unfortunately, the apple was quite juicy and it managed to drip down onto the front of my white turtleneck. Guess I would resort to putting on my scarf before the kids head back into the classroom and noticed my slovenliness. 
     Inside recess is never a good idea for most students, particularly those of the middle-school age.  They need to get outside in the fresh air and run around and laugh and yell.  But inside the classroom, talking with friends, no board games to play - they assured me their teacher DID let them play with the Nerf balls.  "We do it all the time."  So, as long as they promised not to "peg" them at each other I let them go.  That is, they played ball until the floor disciplinarian entered the room and reminded them that their classroom teacher NEVER let them use the balls during recess.  Well, lesson learned.
   By the end of the fifth class, reading the same Jack London story in each, I was pretty good a leading off the discussions.  I'm certain the last class learned more than the first.  All in all, each class enjoyed starting off the day with 15 minutes of silent reading and they worked diligently on their vocabulary packets and they read, listened to, and wrote about Jack London's story. 
   Now I wait for my next call, wondering which classroom, which school I'll be heading to next. I hope its not phys ed, but even if it is, I'll put on my sneakers and run out the door.  God Bless our teachers.