I don't know who came up with that whole "the grass is always greener" philosophy, but (s)he was a blooming genius. Add that in to another favorite of mine, "your perception is your reality"...and you have the makings of my Friday.
Teaching freshmen and sophomores made me long for the (perceived) maturity of juniors. Well, now that I am sans-sophomores...I am now seeing that I was DUPED! I've come to realize that juniors are not necessarily any more mature than freshmen, they've just figured out how to stay off the teacher's radar. At least, the smart ones have.
Unfortunately, I have not been blessed with a roster-full of smart ones. I've got a few who have not perfected that art...at all. This is especially sobering, considering that I only have ELEVEN kids on the roll in my one junior class. I don't even want to do the math to obtain the percentage of "smart ones". (And yes, I still only have one junior class...the schedule changes for the other students are still in the works.)
There is hope on the horizon. Apparently, the word is getting around that I am now teaching Juniors. I have had many of my former students approach me with a beseeching look and a similar plea: "Miss, PLEASE. Can I be in your class? Please?" This is heartwarming...unless there is a recently "given-away" and currently pissed-off student standing nearby. Then there is some counseling triage that must occur in a HURRY.