Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

During the first meeting of my mechanics lecture students for the tenth week of classes (third trimester), the lesson was on Weight and Tension, two of the four specific forces we were to study.

I told them that the next long exam (100 points) will be after this topic, the next long exam will be on the last two specific forces (friction and normal force) and the finals will be on conservation of mechanical energy and momentum.

It just turned out that this week is more of a busy week for the students than last week (the day the play started) was, but I guess it was the combination of the two that got me riled.

There was a fashion show for their Filipino subject, where two of my students are ramp models. The point is, that their teacher refused to sign their excuse letter, because she already excused them during HER class (the period before the show).

At the same time, there was a Filipino food festival where the students were offered free local delicacies. Given the timing that my class is also during lunch, they thought I’d join in the smorgasbord. But it the faculty attendance checker is going to be a stickler to his job, so will I.

I watched on the railing while my students laughed and shoved grub down their throats in the gazebo below. They even saw me and waved. But there was no rush to go back up to our class.

I returned to the room and told the students there to write their names on a piece of paper because they would be receiving a bonus.

One of the students (female) asked what was the matter and I said that their classmates weren’t there. I pushed the teacher’s chair out of the way while I said this, and they might have thought I was really angry when it slammed unintentionally loud.

Now this girl, Julie, is usually very convivial, always laughing and smiling when she sees me in the faculty room or in the hall. So she might have been a little apprehensive to see me in a comparatively dark mood. I could see the concern on her face every once in a while that I glanced her way.

Anyway, I went with that flow. I didn’t smile or joke during the entire lecture, even while the late students trickled in ignored by me, including those who brought up some food for me (some bribe). I guess it’s the method actor in me – which I believe is something any teacher is at some degree, being in front of a captive audience most of the time.

Of course some of them asked for clarifications on the concepts and the example (at least I still gave them THAT courtesy), but I was on the verge of biting their heads off and blaming it on them for not showing up for the lecture on time.

At this point I’d like to point out that this was my second session, where during the first session I had already filled up the entire board with notes and didn’t erase anything.

I’ll finish this tale next time though. Class dismissed for now.