There are certain classes I dread covering. In this particular math class at the continuation high school, the students rarely do any work. (The teacher assigns work. And he tries to keep the students in line. But they've decided that this is the class where they won't do anything, so they don't.)
I passed out the assignment. Offered my assistance. (It's math. I can handle just about any topic.) Then I took my usual perch.
As per normal, they ignored the assignment. Suddenly, the lights went out.
I took a quick inventory. The sky outside was cloudy, but there was enough light in the room to see. They were doing worksheets, so their assignment required no electricity. They could continue "working".
"We can't do anything now. There's no power."
Not that they were doing anything before. I pointed out that they could do their assignment perfectly well even without power.
Less than a minute later, the power came back on. Crisis averted?
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
9 comments:
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There was a power outage yesterday where I live as well. Lasted a couple hours.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. Ugh. Yes, there are reasons we home school--an "learning attitude" like that is one of the big ones. I wish these kids knew what a blessing it is to get the education they're offered. =)
ReplyDeleteMust consider the source, though. This is the school where students who are in danger of not graduating (usually through their own lack-of-work ethic) end up.
DeleteBeyond the alarm for your safety/sanity, I found this a little humorous because of either the ingenuity of a great excuse for not working or naivete that with power out, they were helpless to do the work. sigh. I so admire teachers! :)
ReplyDeleteNo worries about my safety. I was in no danger from the power being out.
DeleteYep, they'll take any excuse to get out of doing the assignment.
I'm with Lexie. Was the outage just an excuse or did they really believe they were "powerless without power?" The former suggest imagination, but the latter just makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteVR Barkowski
It's too bad I couldn't send my son to talk to them and let them know what's in store for them if they don't consider the consequences of their inaction. But I suppose the standard reaction would be a shrug and a "Who cares." Maybe a slap upside the head?
ReplyDeleteMore like "excuse averted". I think it's pretty hilarious that they say they can't do anything when they don't do anything anyway. Why even bother?
ReplyDeleteDid they cheer when they could properly see their math sheets? I'm sure!
ReplyDelete