As far as class goes, things are pretty good—it’s been easier to get back in teacher mode than I expected, but my students make it easy and fun to be in the classroom. The most notable experience so far was my 7th period class today. We started off with what I originally considered a quick throw-away game; we were practicing yes/no questions, so the students all had to stand up and take turns asking each other a yes/no question (choosing their target by chucking my stuffed hippo around the room, obviously)—if the answer was yes, they got to sit down, but if the answer was no they had to stay standing and wait for another chance. The last person standing would be named the loser. Now, it went smoothly for the first 2/3 of the game, but as the end neared the remaining boys realized that they were going to have to become more strategic in their answers if they wanted to avoid losing. As such, honesty was thrown out the window, and what commenced was the longest exchange of boldfaced lies I’ve ever witnessed. Not only are some of my students neither male nor female, they also weren’t wearing underwear and didn’t have legs. The culmination of this was when one of them, who had just announced that he was neither man nor woman, asked the only other boy left standing “Do you have…” and then pointed where I think you can guess he pointed. His target stood for a moment as the gears turned in his head—which was more important, his manly pride or the outcome of the game? By this point, the class was in chaos—boys were practically rolling on the floor, my coteacher was holding her sides in pain from laughing too hard, and I had completely lost it—so I just decided to wait it out and see where he went. Apparently, integrity and dignity bedamned. He proudly announced “No, I don’t have,” chucked the hippo back at his opponent, and asked “Are you human?” And here’s where I got confused. The kid capitulated and said yes! Now, obviously, that’s the correct answer, but he’d already told the class he wasn’t a man. Is gender something he could sacrifice, while his humanity was too integral to the core of his being? Was he just tired and wanted the game to be over? I prefer the “abandoning my humanity is a bridge too far” interpretation, myself. But you can decide however you want.