Students - the new matchmakers?

It appears that my year 10 students are intent on setting me up with another teacher... As I mentioned in another post, a couple of students have a home ec assignment where they have to design and execute a 3 course meal and serve it to a teacher. Well 3 of them have chosen me, but I seem to be getting more than just a free feed. The students are dead set on setting me up with a teacher at school, and they're using the lunch they're cooking for me, to invite him too, to set up a romantic lunch... They're (apparently) getting rose petals to sprinkle over and around the table, and all sorts of other romantic mood setters. Thing is, I'm not too sure exactly why me, or why him? I guess were both single and young? Im laughing about it, but discouraging it at the same time, its a little weird. And I cant talk to this teacher without a couple of students coming up and making comments, calling me Mrs XXXX and generally poking fun. But this teacher is encouraging it, saying he cant wait to spend more time with me and hes looking forward to our lunch - which gets ALL the year 10s going! I had them coming up to me today during a class to talk to me about it, the girls were alot more sensible about it but I think they're just caught up in the romance of it all... I think they'd love to see something happen, and they'd love to be credited with setting 2 young single teachers up!

I do have a bit of a soft spot for my year 10s though.. I got warned about them, how they're a pain in the arse, disengaged, really hard work, really low literacy levels and just a struggle to teach... and in some ways I agree but on the other hand these guys have loads of personality and they just need the space to be themselves. This class arent really the studious type, they DO struggle a bit with literacy but they seem to respond well to discussions, talking about everything rather than writing, and not being treated like they're a pain, which I know is how some teachers treat them. These guys dont respond at all to an dictatorship in the classroom. They're 2,5 terms away from finishing school and going into apprenticeships and they have the mentality that school is almost done for them, they're in charge of their lives and school is an almost ended chapter. So getting them to sit down and study genetics quietly is an improbability... I've bribed them with chocolate, I've let them plug an ipod into the classroom speakers and listen to music int he last 10mins of class if they've worked well... and I get something out of them, they try to get some concepts, and they give me the time of day. I laugh with them, I dont take myself too seriously, and I let them much around a bit, as long as they pull themselves together after a few minutes and get back on task... I've also mentioned to them that I know and understand that for their immediate futures, it may be easy for them to think that topics in science are totally irrelevant. I let them know that understanding science is understanding the world they live in, and their own bodies and how they work, but I get it, that for them, at the moment, its not the most important information. I dont expect them to be science geniuses, although I certainly believe that they're capable of more than what they think... and I've told them that when a future employer wants to see their reports, which they likely will if they want an apprenticeship, that they're not going to be looking primarily at their grades or their academic achievements. Its the comments from the teachers they're going to focus on - how does the student work, do they have a good attitude, how do they interact with their peers? and thats what I'm focussed on as well. I want them to have a go, believe in themselves and have enough self respect to participate in class and not be afraid to fail - they shouldn't be afraid to try and grasp a concept and not understand it. If they dont understand it, its not the end of the world, but if they do understand it, great! They've proven to themselves that they've done something they didn't think they could do, which is only a good thing!! The fantastic thing is, that most of my year 10 class are really beginning to understand this. I think. Theyre 14/15 years old, they're going to have off days of course, but they seem to respond well to me, so far, and Im really happy with that.

They respond so well they're apparently taking charge of my love life....hmmm... we'll see how monday goes!