i finished my formal workday at 8:40 this morning. that's because i threw my second class out.

actually, i threw half the first class out for not knowing more than 1 out of 5 facts in a report i had them read. the second one was a bit more dramatic though.

see, two meetings ago we took up this story in which the character was a great lover of Emerson. nobody in the class knew who Emerson was - not even a vague idea. so i told them to find out - i gave them 20 minutes to do the research... we were on the 5th floor of a building with no library. needless to say they all came back close to cardiac arrest. but they got the information.

moral of the lesson: when you read literature, know the allusions. i told them that they had to be very ready with the next story.

next story, which should have been discussed this morning, is a cultural piece set in Jolo. there were references to wazirs, astanahs and people riding white horses.

question: what does riding a white horse mean? blank stare

question: what is a wazir? blank stare or half-hearted answers of 'an official...?'

question: what is an astanah? blank stare.

end result, 8:40am leave the room (some couldn't believe at first i was actually throwing them out). students' heads hung low, teacher off to buy breakfast.