Wednesday, December 12, 2012

"Oh Christmas Tree..."

I think my teacher is need of a break. I mean, if I were him, I would be so overwhelmed and frustrated.  It doesn't merit the behavior he showed the other day, though.  We were doing a test prep game for the mock AP exam today and the kids were not behaving.  They were in groups and were constantly talking and not paying attention. One student, who is pretty well behaved, but can test the limits was talking. He's definitely not a "behavior problem" though and I've heard he behaves in classes where the teacher is good at behavior management. He had been asked to stop multiple times, so I definitely understand my teacher's frustrations.   There were multiple students not paying attention, but all of a sudden, my teacher turns to this student and, in front of the entire class, says "I don't know what works better, Be Quiet or Shutup?"  This poor student just shut down and refused to participate for the rest of class. When I went to go talk to him and try and get him to participate, he just said he was shutting up like he had been asked to.  It was really sad and I felt really bad for the student.  I mean, I understand my teacher's frustrations, but that was completely out of line.

Anyways, here's a little "holiday cheer" for ya....


Slang Definition of the Day
Christmas Tree-(verb) to randomly fill in bubbles on a test when the test is difficult, if you are creative, you'll make the shape of a Christmas Tree on your scantron.

Today, my AP students were taking a mock AP exam in class to get them used to the time limit and the format of the exam.  Seeing as they haven't learned much of anything,  I knew they were going to have a hard time staying focused and completing the exam, so I braced myself as I headed to class.  Overall, they were pretty good.  If they got overwhelmed, they just fell asleep.  While it's not ideal, it's a lot easier to redirect than acting out and it doesn't disrupt everyone else.  Anyways, there was one student who definitely didn't fall asleep.  She is one of the students who I sometimes pull out, but she's also a major behavior issue in class (which is why this shouldn't have been a surprise).  All of a sudden, she started singing "Oh Christmas Tree..." very loudly in an almost silent classroom. I went over, looked at her paper and saw that in fact, there was a Christmas tree shape on her scantron.  I couldn't help but laugh.  I mean, none of the kids knew any of the answers, so it wasn't a surprise.  I just laughed and told her to try her best.  The singing stopped, but the humming picked up and I just ignored it.  What can ya do?

I'm heading to Boston tomorrow night for my birthday and I couldn't be more excited! I just want it to be tomorrow night at 9:15.  I'll be back in the best city with some of the greatest friends and students.  I can't wait!!

"I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others."-Booker T. Washington

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