Ugly lies.

Teaching middle school students stirs up so much goop. It is at this time of the year, I tap deep into inner reserves. Deep. Not oil-rig-explosion-and-we-can’t-cap-it deep, but into some murky areas.

Someday, when I have time, I might do a research project on the incidence of lying and academic achievement. I would probably find there is no correlation; students who are academically pressured by parents, class status, peers, to achieve academically may cheat, lie, and plagiarism. Student who are not pressured by parents, status, peers (and indeed peers cheer them at when they don’t achieve), also lie.

Everyone lies.

I have been lied to approximately 3 times in the past 8 school hours:

*One incident shall remain just an “incident.”

*One lie came in a stream of lies by a practiced liar

*One lie came in the form of this student having a doppelganger and “it wasn’t him/her.” (Another student quietly confirmed that yes, it was.) This student was here, was tardy, but their doppelganger was outside the building. Weird.

These lies pester me. They feel like little gremlins, walking underfoot, passing gas, giggling maniacally–no one else sees them but me. Not even the liar.

 I wish they could see how exhausting and smelly these lies make the fresh air.