Our level 3 students led a fabulous ritual yesterday, aided by four brave level 2 students. My new favourite must-have ritual tool is a shredder. (You just had to be there.)

I enjoyed the afternoon immensely. For once I wasn’t stressed out about packing too much into the day, so I could relax and actually appreciate the school ritual. Before the rit, I was cornered by two of my level 3s so that they could apologise for the chaos of the oils & incense class two weeks ago. I tried to reassure them, reminded them that I was ill that weekend, pointed out that there’s a reason why making oils and incenses are supposed to be held in two separate classes; but they insisted that no, the class as a whole has to remember that the teachers have a ton of information that we’re trying to get across to them in a limited amount of time, and that class isn’t a social event or a place to kick back and relax. By the end, they had convinced me. (They weren’t going to take no as an answer anyway, so it’s a good thing I agreed.)

See, I believe that class does have a social aspect to it, and that it is a time to relax a bit while being focused. However, these students do have an excellent point: there has to be a balance between the enjoyable aspect and the discipline and respect necessary to work within a time frame and with educators.

So I’m very proud of all of my students this weekend, for a variety of reasons. My Saturday class hit upon a comprimise that allowed them to participate within discussion of modern religion at last, and it was fantastic; the ritual was marvellous; and there were several private exchanges on Sunday afternoon that impressed me with how mature and determined my students are.

And after it all, I got to spend a wonderful evening with my husband’s family. No one barbecues inch-thick pork chops with homemade sauce like my father-in-law!