"My parent(s) won't believe me if I say I don't have any homework."
"But I like to do homework."
And my personal favorite: "I don't get enough homework."
These are all excuses I have heard at one time or another. They are lies.
The specific assignment is irrelevant--usually answering questions or doing math problems or the like. The instruction is for the students to start the assignment in class and finish it up for homework.
The above excuses are the explanation for why the student has not started the assignment in class. (The students who've offered that last one in the past get honorable mention in my note to the teacher. If they don't get enough homework, then their teacher needs to know.)
What is the student doing instead of the assignment? That's the problem.
So, it was nice to have this line in the lesson plan today: "If the students finish the assignment and turn it into you by the end of the period, they will get extra credit."
I told each period this. And most of the students did the assignment and turned it in. I had very few battles with students over doing their work (and not goofing off).
Except for the boy in 6th period. Extra credit? He didn't need extra credit.
Oh, so he had an A? With extra credit, he could turn that into an A+.
He told me that he was happy with an A. He didn't "need" an A+.
What? He didn't want to shock his parents?
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