teaching reflection

My 10th graders are reading Julius Caesar. They understand it, but it doesn't move them. They hardly recognize that it’s great. And so I continue to be the classic goofy teacher. Imagine me jumping around the classroom with enthusiasm and 21 fifteen year olds looking at me with serious, weary looks. Having been anti-social, entirely out of the mainstream and used to stares all my life, I didn't think teenagers could actually make me self-conscious. But they have. My relationship with tenth grade girls is vastly different from any other I've had with any class. I've had antagonistic relationships (from the students' side), but they were anomalous and short-lived. Once the issue had been resolved we had a trusting and friendly classroom environment. But my tenth grade girls’ group is as cold as ice. And I don’t thing I’m wrong to say that they're not trusting. Sure, on a basic level, they tell the truth and I tell the truth, and each expects that of the other. But their axis and my axis, the stuff are minds are wound around are entirely different. It seems strange to say that of the whole group, but every group does have a unique dynamic and understanding. Occasionally, I find them eyeing each other with a certain grin, which I'm entirely left out of. Other times, I catch snips of their conversations during study hall. Most striking though is when I'm trying, as best as I can, to engage them in an idea, and all my attempts fail.