In deep waters...

The week before mom went to Greece two teachers from the school quit. Both of them were 12th grade teachers - one was the teacher who kept inviting mom to the classes that ended up being mom's nightmare. Mom was relieved at first, because that meant that she was out of the hook for a while. Boy, was she wrong!

You might have already guessed where this is going. Mom was "asked" ("asked" by the principal, which is not really 'asking') to substitute for one of the teachers. 16 hours of teaching a week, ALL with 12th graders. Divine justice maybe? Hmm....

The administration said 'it's only temporary'. Now, when a substitute is not paid, the term 'temporary' can be very relative...fortunately, there is a teachers' union at school, and according to Goldie mom is not allowed to give grades, so sooner or later the school will have to hire a teacher.

The good thing (well, sort of) is that these are not the same 12th grade classes that mom has been to. These students have English as a second foreign language, while German is their first foreign language. This means that their English is not that good, but also that they still have a clean record with mom. They may end up being better or worse than the others, but at least mom can start on a clean slate with them, especially now that she knows what rules she wants.

The other good thing is that mom has a carte blanche from the administration to do anything she wants in those classes. No grades, no obligation to follow the textbook, no exams. This means absolute freedom to get the students talking. Or, that's the plan at least. Whether it's too ambitious of a plan, it remains to be seen.