I just hope I don't make a fool of myself

On Friday, I am teaching Junior Achievement to ninth graders.  Freshman. At the high school.  We will be talking about international trade.

I admit it.  I'm scared.

Why should I, a college graduate with a business degree, be afraid of these pimple faced punks?  Why should I, a grown-up, wise well beyond this bunch of 14 and 15 year olds, be nervous?  Why should I, a business owner, be worried about screwing up?

Because I remember 9th grade.  I remember how anyone over the age of 18 was the stupidest, oldest, old-fashioned human on the planet.  They didn't know anything.  They were just regurgitating the crap from the book.  My friends and I talked about substitutes like they had just fallen off the turnip truck and rolled in as a warm body to fill the space.  I don't want a kid to go home and say, "Mom, we have the worst lady for JA.  She's so stupid."

I'm even more afraid because today's kids talk back.  They question.  They challenge.   They're argumentative.  They look up the answers on their iphones.  Some are undisciplined.  They have no fear of being paddled when they act up because schools don't do that anymore (and neither do most parents), but that's a whole other post. 

I am hoping to be able to find the classroom.  On time.  And I hope the technology works for me.  I'm not always successful at the technology.  The 3rd graders yelled at me when I started to write on the SmartBoard with chalk.  Have you ever heard twenty 9 years olds scream "Stop!" at the same time?!  It's frightening.  What was so wrong with chalk and erasers that they had to upgrade to these SmartBoards?  (Again, a whole other post.)

Best case scenario for me?  Blank stares, maybe.  Hope an ubersmart kid whose lived in 10 countries doesn't call me out (we live in oil industry country....that's absolutely possible). 

Maybe I should bribe them.  It wouldn't hurt to put a bag of candy in my briefcase, right?