==Kuwait==

Mr. Bodkins was my 11th grade Physics teacher. He was a very tall and extremely thin man who moved with the odd disjointed grace of a puppet. He had a deep melancholy voice and a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. Having made a joke, he would smile in his beard with a sort of pleasure which was quite unaffected by anyone else9s reaction.

Quite frankly I used to think he was a typical example of an uncaring teacher who just taught for a living. But I have to admit that he was a very good teacher, so when I needed extra tuition I immediately thought of Mr. Bodkins.
It all started when he sent me to get his 'green notebook' from his office. Mr. Bodkins should have been more specific, something along the lines of 'the thick green notebook with white print and YEAR 11 written all over the front'. Well at least I had a reasonable excuse; they were both green notebooks! I really couldn't resist opening the well kept diary.

Jan, 22 --- Today's class got the old 'Energy cannot be created or destroyed' law. It wasn't hard to notice that most of them didn't really care about Energy at 8 in the morning. Infact they barely had enough energy to keep their eyelids open. Actually I didn't really mind because I could have been dreaming for all I know. After all these years of waking up at the crack of dawn I'm still finding it extremely tiresome and cruel. I don't really blame them for being half asleep since I was entirely asleep.

What a surprise! I always thought that he took special pleasure in torturing us every morning with tons of information related to Physics that we had to understand and even write down.

Feb, 2 --- Steve and Laura were passing notes today. It's funny how they think teachers are blind-as if we were never kids before. Kids that went through every trick in the book for passing notes. I guess it's their faces that give them away. They just stare at you as if they understand every word you're saying and then wait for the right moment and fire away. It takes about half a second to throw the note or pass the book with it hidden somewhere. Oh and reading and sending replies is another story. Sometimes I just ignore the fact that they're not concentrating and secretly watch the art of passing notes! Then after a while when I finally get bored or they make it too obvious I give them the 'cut it out or I'll kick you out' look.

This I never expected out of Mr. Bodkins and I actually found it very funny!

Feb, 16 --- Another boring day- it seems to me like I've given these lessons thousands of times before. I'm repeating myself, like an old broken record except that the songs aren't that good!

He even finds his own lessons boring! I couldn9t believe my eyes. I carried on reading.

Mar, 13 --- Parent's Meeting coming up. I actually look forward to the days right before it. Surprisingly enough my students are usually on their best behaviour, answer questions in class and even give in homework on time. Will wonders never cease!

Mar,22 --- Today was the big day- quite interesting. Tom's parents were in for a big surprise; their son's grades weren't that appealing. I really hate to spoil the boy's day but it's for his own good. I told them they should be a bit more strict about his studying and help him get through his last year. I also met some really angry people; it's as if it's all my fault that their kids don't get the proper grades. On the other hand some parent's just came to see me out of a sense of duty since they know perfectly well that their children are doing fine in their studies. Those are really the best type of parents since it takes me only a few minutes to send them on their way.

By the time I got to the Parents Day entry I was sitting on Mr. Bodkins desk, smiling to myself. It was then when I realized that I'd been there for 10 minutes. So I quickly got the 'green notebook' and ran to the classroom. I apologized to Mr. Bodkins for being late using the bathroom as an excuse. From that day I saw him and other teachers in an entirely different point of view. They were actually human- showing signs of care, boredom, sleepiness and interest.