Smashing walls

Today's theme is walls. Walls come in many varieties. Some are brick; some are not. They can be tall, short, or somewhere in between. The first types of walls are the angry types that I get to try to teach every day. For some reason, many of my students are angry at me. They are angry because I want them to learn. They are angry because I have expectations for them. They are angry because those expectations are higher than what they can achieve with their questionable good looks and work ethics. But, most of all, they are angry because I ask them to think and it hurts to use muscles you are not used to using.

Seriously though, another teacher said that if felt like he was teaching to a bunch of walls. I commented that my walls were angry and the metaphor fit. I cannot believe the resistance I'm facing this year. A full fourth of my students are failing two or more subjects for this third marking period. To be honest, it all comes down to trying. I think that so many of these kids are convinced that they will fail, that they are afraid to even try, because that would be a bigger failure. So, I'm stuck teaching angry walls who want to keep others from learning as well.

The other wall I would like to discuss is the one I eventually dismantled (it wasn't exactly a smashing because it took me a few minutes to get past it) on my run today. The past two weeks have been a bit weak for the running, but I think I needed to slow down a bit. My body must have realized that I was doing something consistently that I hadn't been doing for quite some time and the poor guy got tired on me. But I came back with a vengeance today and ran another 7-miler and actually averaged 9:18 miles. About 3 miles in I face a huge headwind right as I started up a significant hill. It almost stopped me in my tracks and left me barely moving for the next half mile. I made myself proud though, because I fought through it and got back on pace and finished faster than I started. It was not a pretty run. I felt nothing like a gazelle. There was little fluidity of motion. There was little effortless movement. This run was a test of will power and I found more than I thought I had. I'm making my way back. I can go the distance. Now I need to find my speed again.

2 weeks to go until the Humdinger. I'm getting worried. I no longer plan to finish in under 70 minutes. Now I think I will make my goal to finish with 15 minutes of my student who is also running. Should be interesting. I just hope the course isn't gloopy.