Thursday, September 26, 2019

A Likely Story


It was one of those "severe" special ed classes where the high school aged kiddos are doing second grader work. The teacher had helpfully left a list of all the students and the things I should look out for.

It was fourth period. Math. They were doing worksheets where they were counting change.

They complained. "Math is for little kids..."

Well, um, I took math in college. Calculus. Applied analysis. Math is for adults too. But they weren't buying that.

But after the initial complaint, most of them got to work.

Except for Jeremiah.

Jeremiah didn't need to do the work. He knew it already. And he quickly changed the subject.

First, he had a headache. He needed to get medicine from his sister who was in class two doors down.

Not long thereafter, the conversation turned to lunch. Lunch is after fifth period. He said his lunch was after fourth. Because he was a senior. (There were only ninth and tenth graders in class.) When I pointed out that seniors had the same lunch as underclassmen, he said seniors had a different lunch at the school his brother went to, which was in another district.

Then he wanted to know if I was going to go to his game that night. One of the aides then chimed in with, "I thought you didn't have a game tonight."

And around and around it went. Jeremiah would either say something that was easily proven false, or he would say two things that contradicted each other. (He has a sibling at the same school or his siblings go to another school? Both could be true, of course, but then other "siblings" showed up in the conversation.)

By the end of the period, the rest of the class had finished their math assignment. Jeremiah? Hadn't even started it.

If only they put half as much effort into doing the work as they do in avoiding it.

16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. If only we could get him to write that stuff down...

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  2. Liz,

    Sadly, kids like Jeremiah will one realize the value of an education. They don't understand that right now. Aside from Jeremiah's disruptions. I was taken back with the complaining with these kids who thought math was for kiddies. Basic math is something we use everyday. Oh, I forgot most people need Siri or Google to give them these answers. Silly me!

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  3. I don't entirely blame him for trying to get out of math (I HATE it), but there comes a point where you just have to accept your fate and suffer through it.

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    Replies
    1. If only he would have. He could have been finished in half the time the stories took.

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  4. Oh my, well, he seems to be quite the peach....not! I hated math but I would always try. hey...I went to your etsy shop, I had to get another phone, a Samsung. I would love a cell phone cover. I would love one in blue. If you have one, great but if not, could you make one and let me know the cost. It is about 6 1/2 inches long and 3 inches wide:)

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  5. Avoiding math is always easier than doing it.

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  6. I liked basic math, wasn't crazy with algebra and above. Did he have to take it home as homework?

    betty

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  7. Like or some what like Betty. I did ok and basic algebra I total didn't get.
    Coffee is on

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  8. Maybe they were half siblings from a bunch of different fathers.

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  9. That conversation would wear me out. Best of luck to you, J.

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    Replies
    1. Sometimes I wonder if they go home and just sleep after a story like that.

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  10. I hope Jeremiah knows enough arithmetic to get by.

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  11. But they never see it because the math requires a different sort of effort than making the excuses.

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