Wednesday, May 30, 2018

The Crayon Box: The New Watercooler


Seventh grade science. It's nearing the end of the year, so they were working on a major project--The Body Book. (It's a review of all the human body systems--like respiratory and skeletal--in an illustrated booklet.)

On this day they were to complete pages for the integumentary system and the endocrine system.

However, I had fair warning--this class was horrible.

As the assignment required colored illustrations, the teacher had provided a tub of crayons. Used, abused, broken crayons. (The kiddos don't treat provided materials with respect.) The students could borrow colors as needed.

A girl and two boys hovered over the crayon tub. When I queried them, they claimed they were searching for specific colors. But they weren't digging through the tub as vigorously as I'd expect. Or at all. No, it was clear they were having a conversation. (I definitely got a flirting vibe.)

I told them to find their colors and take a seat.

I would have hovered over them, but the class needed more attention. I had roamers to chase down. One girl decided she's rather sit on the floor. Another boy was arguing with a fellow student, and the pair needed my intervention.

I returned to the crayons to find the three still there.

Okay, fine. Time to put a timer on it.

I found the teacher's timer, set it for two minutes, and told them that was their time limit. They left before the timer went off--without crayons.

On the bright side, this assignment is worth major points, so the goofing off will impact their grades.

28 comments:

  1. Too funny that they went back to their places without the crayons. Did they get up any time else during the class to try to get the crayons again?

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did they get up again? Yes. To get crayons? No. That was just an excuse to congregate, and once it was taken away, they just found another.

      Delete
  2. I'm amazed at how you're able to handle it all. I think I'd go nuts if I were in your situation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is something to be said for thinking "blog fodder" when they do something terrible. It makes the situation funnier to me, anyway.

      Delete
  3. Shame you have to play zookeeper sometimes like that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I definitely use the timer method with the kids I watch. Sometimes they really do push my patience and a timer really does encourage them to move a bit faster.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I love the timer method. I don't use it nearly as often as I should.

      Delete
  5. Somehow I doubt that grades are a big deal for them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, probably not. They may have the continuation high school in their future.

      Delete
  6. I bet the geeky ones doze off during class and get all the answers correct when quizzed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup. They keep their heads down for now. Then in high school they end up in classes where they don't have to battle these crazies.

      Delete
  7. HAHA....I remember being a teen in class and I can only hope I was not this bad!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Work with your enemy and let them hang themself in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wonder if this is what our future lawmakers will be like!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were the same at this age (well, mostly), so I think they'll probably grow out of it. Well, most of them.

      Delete
  10. I'm trying to visualize 7th grade. I mean, 7th graders I know. Was I still using crayons at that age? Flirting seems logical though. The beginning of the drama age!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ideally they'd have colored pencils, but those that don't bring their own materials are limited to what they can borrow. The teacher wasn't going to invest in colored pencils that they'd mistreat.

      Delete
  11. Perfect title to the post. I don't know how you do this week after week. ~shakes head~ Be well, my dear!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like Heather's advice. hahaha.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh brother...I would lose my cool I think but knowing these idiots will screw up their grade because of this brings a smile to my face

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah. The kiddos that spend the period playing around tend not to turn in work. And this assignment is worth major points.

      Delete

I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.