Teenagers!!

Teenagers! You can't stand them, but you're not allowed to shoot them! As a teacher in an American high school, I am daily reminded of this dilemma.
Don't get me wrong, I do actually enjoy spending time with teenagers. They are great entertainment. How any of us survived beyond our teenage years is actually a mystery. I remember my mother saying many times, particularly those times when I was causing some kind of trouble, that I would have children just like me. Well, I have 2-3 dozen! Students, smart, cynical, and full of mischief. Remind me to tell you about stealing a classroom sometime.

I don't remember being an overly troublesome child, and I was certainly not the most problematic teenager the world has ever seen, but I must have been doing something wrong for Mom to wish "myself" on me. I was never even intrigued by drugs, and being Mormon, alcohol and smoking were also never an issue in my teen years. I was just shy enough that my "love life" was limited to group activities and the occasional awkward date request, immediately followed by the (now apparent) lame brush off excuse. "I think I'm going to be sick that day." I wasn't so oblivious that I completely missed those, so I didn't do any real dating in high school. Maybe I was aiming too high. Cheerleaders, student body leaders, prize winning scholars, singers, dancers, etc. And strangely enough, many of them were in my circle of friends, and we were always out doing things together, groups of 10-12 or more. Strange huh?

Anyway, I digress........I must have done some stupid things to make my Mom wish such terrible things on me. I remember the one and only time I "ditched" (cut, sloughed, skipped, whatever) a class. I was late for my German class, and the German teacher was a strict "old" lady from East Germany. I thought I would be better off absent than late. I ran around the corner just as the bell rang, so I froze. Hey what do you want?! I was a Freshman!

I sat there for 2 minutes debating in my head what I should do, and then my friends, who were a year ahead of me in German, came out of the door. They were headed to the library to study German. ( can you see it coming? I know, I know, what a rebel!!) I went to the library with my friends, and studied German while ditching my German class!

My Mom picked me up for lunch that day. Didn't usually happen. ??? She asked me how German was going. ....???...... how did she know? Was she psychic? Had she tuned in to my rebellion that morning? I was mortified, stupefied and probably qualified as "stupidfied". I lied.
I said German was great! She asked what I had for homework. I told her some random page number from the book. She asked when it was due. I was sweating bullets. I told her the next day. She said nothing, and took me home for lunch.
When I got back home that afternoon, she reminded me about my German homework, and handed me a small packet of worksheets. To my bewildered expression she explained that Frau Silbermann actually only wanted me to do the first worksheet, but since I was so interested in the textbook pages, I could do them, too, along with the worksheets for the entire week. Oh, and by the way....They're due tomorrow!
Mom, thanks for helping me to see the error of my rebellious ways. I never skipped a class again, and I went on to become that German teacher dealing with dumb freshman stunts. Take the kid who missed class the day of a test. First period, starting at 8 am. That is rough!! Well, we have a legally mandated policy that requires us to give a make-up test if the student has a valid illness. (called in by a parent is enough) Next morning student x shows up, claiming to have been sick in bed, and asks about the test make-up. What's a reformed rebel to do? I asked him how the game went. "What game?"

"The street football game you were in, that had to get out of the road as I drove home from work yesterday afternoon.?