Game On!

Summer Academy teaching has begun. Thursday I was totally wigging out and biting my nails to nubs cool as doped-up cucumber. Two highlights thus far both involve the adorable and obliging young Kim G.

1. Text message exchange with Li'l Kim after Day 1:

Kimberli: Heyyy mr. trudeau!!! itz kim :)
Trudeau: Kim my dude! Thanks for the text. Get that HW done and keep it up in class. I like your style.
Kimberli: Lolxz tanxzz. u got a funnie style 2 lolxz nd im doin ur hw rite now lolxz

eRelationship building. But how does this sort of thing pay off? Well...

2. Kim's first demerit, earned Friday for calling out without raising her hand.

Kimberli: Oh it's like alcohol abuse!
Trudeau: Kim... [pause for effect] That's a demerit. I need you to raise your hand if you want to answer a question. [extended pause looking at Kim] AMAZING! Kim got the very first demerit in our fiction class and she handled it GREAT! Everyone shine on Kim! [class extends jazz hands at Kim]
Kimberli: AAAHH!! [buries head in hands]
Trudeau: No, no. EVERYONE has to shine on Kim. Until she's bright red!
Kimberli: I'm already red!

Boom. Could I have exposed Li'l Kim to such a mercilessly embarassing demerit-then-praise moment if I hadn't taken the time to signal that I care about her and I'm down with some corny humor? Maybe. But maybe not.

At the end of class she stopped in the high-five line (class opens with a handshake, ends with a fist bump or high five) and told me she had come up with her own handshake for the end of class. Pardon me while I go practice that bad boy.