The assignment was for six days in a high school chemistry class, the same one from last week. The teacher had left them a movie (that took us four days to get through--it was a crazy schedule week). After the movie, they had a three paragraph "report" to write.
(The writing was tangentially related to the movie which was tangentially related to chemistry, so I won't bore you with assignment details.)
Upon completion of the writing assignment, they were to staple their writing to the prompt and turn it in. There were two staplers left out for the students to use.
They all went for the red one. So much so that students on the side of the automatic stapler would wait for the student using the red one to finish before stapling.
Turns out, they weren't sure what to make of the automatic stapler. I know this because I started offering it to them.
"That's a stapler too."
Every single person who tried it needed me to explain how to get it to work. Some tried to press the top down. And when the staple slammed home (it's loud), half of them jumped. Most of them looked like they were never getting anywhere near that stapler again.
However, a few thought it was cool. A couple boys (it's always the boys) started taking up others' papers so they could do it again. This was more of the reaction I was expecting.
Ah well. At least I exposed them to the thing. Perhaps next time they have to staple something, they'll be braver.
And see, I thought it was because they were all fans of Office Space (despite them likely not being alive when that movie came out). You're introducing these kids to all sorts of neato things like sliding white boards and automatic staplers. What will be next?
ReplyDeleteNow, see, I didn't realize these were cool things. They're just everyday normal things to me. (Although, I should feature the new light fixtures...)
DeleteYeah, I had mostly sophomores and juniors, born in 2002 and 2003. (Feel old? I feel positively ancient.)
That is too funny how they initially shied away from the automatic stapler. Those were always the best to use when I had a chance to both at school and then later in the work field.
ReplyDeletebetty
Watching them jump would've been worth it!
ReplyDeleteSure a pretty color of red
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that the first time I encountered an electronic stapler, I didn't quite know how to work it. (And I wasn't a teen, I was 45!)
ReplyDeleteSame here. Although, I was a bit younger than you were (in my 30s.)
DeleteHi Liz - 'the thing'!! They are quite daunting to us initially ... but wow they are brilliant ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteWell you taught me something new today as well. I have never heard of an electronic stapler!!
ReplyDeleteThey're not worth the expense for occasional use. But if you staple a lot (like in a classroom), they save some time and effort.
DeleteThis just reminds me of my mom telling me how she's afraid of the automatic stapler at her work. I guess it might reach out and bite her.
ReplyDeleteInteresting what fascinates kids, isn’t it?
ReplyDeleteAnd what they shy away from.
Deletehahahaa-that would have been funny to see them jump. you should bring in an old fashioned phone, hook it up and ask them to call someone
ReplyDeleteThey'd have no idea. I know this because I actually had to show a class how a rotary phone worked one day.
DeleteI love auto staplers. They do the job so easily while manual staplers (for me anyway) can be a little more hit and miss - particularly if I have a mound of paper.
ReplyDelete