Survey of biology. 4th period. I had covered the class the prior week, and things had not gone so well.
I insisted on silent attention while I was going over instructions. They would not stop talking. In these circumstances I can be a bit stubborn. What should have taken me two minutes took me fifteen. And that made me the enemy.
This day I still didn't have their attention, but I had less to say. I passed out their papers and left them to it.
Later, I did my circuit of the class, checking on the various students. Kareem wasn't doing anything. I reminded him that his work was due at the end of the period. He complained that he had no idea what to do. He said I had not "taught" them. (I'm not sure what he wanted taught. It was a worksheet to complete.)
Deep sigh.
They left. Then 5th period came in. Same assignment. Much more well-behaved group.
One student went to staple something, and he found the stapler empty. I found staples, and I went to put the staples in the stapler. Only, the stapler was broken. The spring thingy was missing.
Oh! That's what that long, tightly coiled spring was! I knew where I'd seen it.
While Kareem was telling me I was a failure as a teacher, he wound a long spring through his hair, around his head, and just generally pulled it apart. At the time I didn't know what it was.
Kareem was long gone, but I at least had the name of the one who broke the teacher's stapler. Too bad he made himself memorable. If he hadn't spent so much time doing nothing, I might never have noticed.
You'd make a good detective!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't you have loved to see the exchange between the teacher and Kareem the next day?
ReplyDeletebetty
Kareem sounds like a creative individual. Too bad he doesn't use his creativity in a more positive way.
ReplyDeleteIf only he used his creativity to fix the stapler...
DeleteSounds like a brat to me!!
ReplyDeleteHe's probably got five inches on me (and I'm not short), so I think he's too old to be called a brat. I think he's graduated to jerk.
DeleteLOL! Yep you are right!!
DeleteMaybe he was too busy dis-assembling the stapler to pay attention when you were teaching.
ReplyDeleteThat must be it ;)
DeleteSomeone above called him a brat and I have to agree. I can't believe he said you were "a failure as a teacher". Some days when you post, I am so glad I am neither a teacher nor a sub.
ReplyDeleteThose weren't his exact words. Just the gist of his complaint. Which is funny as there was nothing to "teach". It was a &*^% worksheet.
DeleteSounds like Kareem needs to pay more attention in class and less to destroying office supplies. I just checked my stapler, it must have take some concentrated effort to remove that spring.
ReplyDeleteVR Barkowski
Well, it's easier to blame you than themselves. Some people just never accept responsibility for anything.
ReplyDeletelol he shouldn't have made himself memorable! Silly kids.
ReplyDeleteThis is their first mistake. And one they keep making. It's the good kids who know how to keep their heads down.
DeleteDo you keep a list of miscreants? Sometimes I will read about Daemon or someone and wonder how they are doing.
ReplyDeleteNot so much a list. I'll probably forget all about him unless he jogs my memory at a later date.
DeleteYeah, if you want to get away with shite, keep a low profile for Heaven's sake!
ReplyDeleteSound like these little ones needed some type of bounds.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
He's not so little... Yeah, but the reason they were in that class is because they don't do work. So, it was to be expected.
DeleteI remember as a kid that I had a very strange relationship with my teachers. I always moved faster than the group and just didn't have patience. It meant people would tell me to work and I literally wouldn't have anything to do.
ReplyDeleteIn elementary school, this meant extreme boredom. In high school, this meant I slept. A lot. Literally all the time. Amusingly, this habit continued into college for the first two years until I'd finished my AA. It wasn't until I was working on my BA I actually had a challenge that I felt the need to work on.
Beginning of Semesters were always amusing/annoying because teachers would get pissed with me and order me to stay awake and work with the class. With one or two exceptions, this changed normally in 3 - 4 weeks when the results consistently had me in top of the class. haha
Did you take advanced classes? That's where the "bored" students go now.
DeleteI did, honestly. I finished High School with a 4.9 GPA. AP and Advanced classes. Just never did anything for me.
DeleteOh, you were one of those... I've met those students.
DeleteOne year, a boy explained how he kept himself entertained in calculus. He and a friend created a whole new cosmology. Based on the assumption that the universe wasn't infinite.
Oh dear, I fear I might have been a Kareem. I was pretty naughty - passive aggressive, but certainly not easy. Well done on the detective work
ReplyDeleteIt was the destruction of the stapler that bothered me. You didn't destroy staplers back in the day, did you?
DeleteLike Barkowski said, its not really easy to remove that spring.
ReplyDeleteNot a good time to be memorable. Oops, indeed.
ReplyDelete