Friday, September 14, 2018

Familiar Request


Eleventh grade U.S. history. I had just gone over their assignment and asked for questions.

"Can we move seats and work with a partner?"

I should mention that this was already on the board...


No other class had bothered to ask. This is the teacher's handwriting, by the way, not mine. He had written up their assignment along with these instructions.

I pointed out this as I told the student no.

"Can we work in groups?"

Well, that's just messing with me.

"Mr. L isn't here. We don't have to tell him. You can let us..."

I'm familiar with this argument. I hear it a couple times a month. It's generally partnered with, "This is your class for today".

Me: "This is Mr. L's class, so we're going to honor his request."

I wonder if the boy does ever convince a sub to go along with that. Some must fall for it as the students use it frequently.

Once denied, though, the students didn't argue the point any longer. They settled into blissful silence. Ah. That's the kind of class I like.

21 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Oh yes. By the time they get wise, they've moved on (graduated or such) and a new batch of kiddos have replaced them.

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  2. I'm sure they thought the rules were for every other class, but not theirs ;)

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  3. They kept trying to push the button. It didn't work. Don't they know you by now. Your name should be legend.

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  4. Inexperienced subs probably fall for it. Hopefully once is enough to know better. lol

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  5. Not the same, but I'm reminded of last week's teen meltdown at the skate patch in the park. 'No skateboards' held no meaning for him. He was asked to move along & responded by cursing up a storm.

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    1. Definitely related. Teens just don't think the rules apply to them.

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  6. I think it's a case of pushing the boundaries with new faces. If you give in on one thing they;ll keep pushing to see how far they can go.

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  7. They will try anything to get their ways; good thing you honor what the teacher has assigned and follow what his expectations are.

    betty

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  8. It seems that, by the time some of these kids quit monkeying around, they could have been halfway done with the project. ~shakes head~ How interesting you've seen lots of flying insects, too. I think that's good, especially when it's pollinators. I've enjoyed seeing so many colorful creatures this season.

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    Replies
    1. I have attempted that very argument. And the amount of time they spend arguing back...

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  9. They had to try...Glad they settled instead of continuing to argue the point.

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  10. So tell me what is it about you that makes them think you would be a push over? Reading your blog I don’t get that from you....haha...kids they have to try everything, like it is only them that think up this stuff only they don’t realize that there tricks go back to their grandparents and their parents..land so on. Haha

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    1. They see "substitute" and they lose all sense of supervision. They seem to think that all subs are just there to let them do what they want.

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  11. When you don't succeed, try, try again! Give them A for effort....

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  12. I never liked working with a partner or in a group. Sheer torture. My work stands alone, for good or ill.

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    Replies
    1. "Working with a partner" is code for "they can talk".

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  13. Sheer silence must be sheet torture when you are tired. I'd totally fall asleep some days. Then again, as a student I loved "sub movie days"; you could fall asleep and it wasn't a big deal. The sub didn't care and the movie rarely related to anything we would be tested on. Unfortunately, as the sub you can't fall asleep like the students, but I guess you get extra internet time?

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