Also, this week I'm at Unicorn Bell. I'd love it if you'd stop by.
I actually got to proctor a final this year. (Some years I do. Mostly, I just show movies on the last days of school.) It was in a freshman English class. 100 questions on Romeo & Juliet.
Honestly, I expected more of a fight. Luckily, I was wrong. I warned them about not talking. They didn't talk. Everything was going pretty well, until I caught the kiddo with earbuds in.
Seriously? It's a FINAL! You don't listen to music while taking a final.
I motioned for him to remove the earbuds. A bit later, I caught him with one earbud back in his ear.
Well, at least it went smoothly for the rest of the class...
Are you sure he was listening to music? Maybe he was listening to 100 answers to 100 questions about Romeo & Juliet...
ReplyDeleteI used to listen to classical music before finals. I had read a study that listening to classical music in a certain key could boost test scores. Of course, studying might have been helpful, too. :)
M.J.'s comment made me chuckle. Seriously, music seems to help me focus and always has. But if it is against the rules, I would be too chicken to try. :) I'm only a rebel if it won't get me into actual trouble.
ReplyDeleteI allow them to listen to music when they have a bookwork assignment (unless the teacher has specifically prohibited it or it's a middle school class). I understand how that helps some people focus. But not in a final!
DeleteIf that was the worst that happened, call it a win.
ReplyDeleteCan someone even come up with 100 questions about Romeo and Juliet?
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon!
betty
The questions weren't just about the plot. There were also vocabulary questions and questions about how the poetry worked. According to the class (after they had finished), they had seen many of the questions on previous quizzes.
DeleteSorry to hear you are feeling under the weather! Sending you healing wishes. I do not understand why so many teachers schedule movies for the final days of school That is about all Darian and Harley did the last week of school. Might as well just let school out early. They aren't learning anything anyway. I suggested that once and the answer I received was, "then we will just show all the movies the week before we let kids out early." Still sitting here shaking my head!
ReplyDeleteThe movie thing: some teachers don't give finals, some teachers have to give their finals early, or some classes finish everything early. And that's true--the teachers that are just going to show a movie during finals are going to show a movie during finals no matter when they are.
DeleteThose bugs travel from one part of your life to the next. As to the earbuds, I read about students taking tests who were receiving answers from others outside. A for ingenuity. F for cheating.
ReplyDeleteThat's what worries me. Although, I don't know who he could have been in contact with, as that was the first class that got that final. And he wasn't doing anything that made me think he was communicating with anyone...
DeleteSome kids can't live without their music for more than thirty minutes.
ReplyDeleteI know.
DeleteHope your cold clears up quickly!
ReplyDeleteThat is one of the reasons I could probably never teach students younger than college age. I'd be That English Teacher who is hated and feared by all. Kiddo's headphones would have been thrown out the window.
Some days I would love to do just that.
DeleteWell I guess if he wants to throw his results, why not, eh? Maybe he was listening to classical to enhance his cognitive reasoning. ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry you're sick now. Summer colds are the worst.
ReplyDeleteI think it's too bad they're not allowed to listen to music. Of course there could be cheating involved, but music always helps me concentrate. I would have loved to have had some during a test.
Yuck, a cold. Hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteSo did the kid think you wouldn't notice one ear bud?
To listen, perchance to cheat?
ReplyDeleteI was reading some comments, and I'm another one who listens to music while writing or studying. I've never tried it while taking a test, though.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better!
I don't mind music during general bookwork. But not during tests!
DeleteThanks. I am feeling better now. Kinda funny why. (Check back next week.)
Kids do love to push the buttons don't they? I am so sorry to hear you are sick...I know that this sucks! I hope you are enjoying some good movies, I had NyQuil, Vick's, Ricola and plenty of peppermint tea. I hope you get better fast like my hubby. Take care
ReplyDeleteYes, they do. And thanks. I did get one day of repeat (to me) movies.
DeleteI never went school that late in year.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Now, to me, you people get out of school really early.
DeleteTake care of yourself. In New York City, where I grew up, school lasted late. Until high school, anyway, because once the Regents started, that was it. And those students do know how to push buttons. I think, at the Regents, that earbud thing would have been an automatic expulsion from the test and if that exam was required for graduation, too bad.
ReplyDeleteEarbuds during finals aren't allowed during finals here, too. I don't know what Regents are.
DeleteI've had a headache for two days and fear I too am getting a cold. It's that sort of headache. Stock up on chicken soup and paracetamol Liz.
ReplyDeleteBefore the cold went full-blown, I got the worst migraine. So bad I couldn't sleep. And I could always sleep before. Deep sigh.
DeleteSorry you haven't been feeling well. :( At least it's now summer?
ReplyDelete100 questions on R&J is a lot… I think I'd rather watch a movie than proctor an exam. Wonder if the kid with the headphones has a subscription to audible? lol.
I don't think listening to the play would have helped with the questions on the test. They weren't those sorts of questions.
DeleteAs for a movie... Sometimes that works, but many times, it's just an excuse for the kiddos to spend the period playing.
I feel for you on the internet issues, I live near a lake and I'm pretty sure all the summer visitors do is get on their phones and hog the bandwidth!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like that final went smoothly, those freshman sound better than the 8th graders I had to monitor for a quiz the one and only day I subbed middle school :)
8th graders are evil.
DeleteAlthough, you should give middle school another shot. It's an interesting age. So long as you realize that they need to be handled a certain way.