I really, really wish 8th grade teachers wouldn't leave tests as part of their lesson plan. (Many times it doesn't go well.) Especially when the teacher admits that her classes aren't all that cooperative generally.
It was 6th period (naturally). For the most part the kiddos settled in. But there were these two boys...
Dallas and Andrew would not sit still. One of them told me he hadn't been in class for a couple days, so he couldn't take the test. The other was looking for any excuse to goof off.
Once we were under testing conditions (and this takes a bit of time, especially with 8th graders), I went about organizing the mess left over from 5th period. And things were going pretty well until Andrew started acting like he was the bass line in a rap song.
I gave him my stare. He settled. Then started up again.
Really?
I pulled out a referral form. Wrote: "Making beats sounds during a test". Handed it to him.
"I'm not Andrew. I'm Dallas."
Of course. Because Andrew and Dallas switched seats early on and were pretending to be one another.
Easy enough fix. Then Dallas told me (disrupting the testing class further, because he wasn't quiet about this): "That's a new one."
Yeah, new for me, too.
I got the class to settle by pulling out another referral form and asking the class who wanted to go next. Andrew volunteered. I said no, and we got back to it.
Then Andrew started making drops sounds. Most of the time when a student does this, he hides it from me. Not Andrew. So, out he went.
Things settled nicely after that.
Ah, the end of the year. So much fun.
Friday, June 13, 2014
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It has to be hard at the end of the year for both teachers and students; everyone is just itching to have freedom :)
ReplyDeletebetty
The end of the year? We are right in the middle here in Australia. By the end of the year I feel like ripping my hair out at the roots so my sympathy goes out to you Liz.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yeah, we're just about ready for summer. In about a week. (Two weeks in blog time, as my posts are usually about last week.)
DeleteMy husband has mastered that water drop sound effect. In movie theaters, when it gets really quiet, that's his favorite thing to do. My stepdaughter always slides down in her sleep in embarrassment when he does that!
ReplyDeleteThat drop sound is difficult to do. At least, I haven't gone on YouTube and tried it.
DeleteAgain, I could never be a teacher because I would get the baseball bat, ask for his phone and wallop the hell out of it for his stupidity. Of course I would be fired since the parents of the student would complain as their child is so heavenly. You must be waiting for the end of the school year so you can relax and recharge
ReplyDeleteI hope the summer vacation is going to start soon.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week, Liz.
One more week. Thanks.
DeleteYou can make it! One more week:) At least you can leave Dallas and Andrew behind. I have my own two teenagers to deal with daily.
ReplyDeleteHopefully I won't see them again. Like today. When I have 8th grade classes.
Delete