Take one staple. Unbend the corners so it's as straight as you can make it. Fold a sticky note into a triangle thingie. (Here's a helpful tutorial.) Place the staple at the sticky tip of the triangle...
It's an ingenious device. Alas, its only purpose is goofing off in class...
Eighth grade English. They were doing a one-pager book project. Basically, it's a poster about the book they read.
But eighth graders...
Fourth period. They came in, climbed up on the desks, and retrieved the ceiling darts (a quick internet search yielded that term) that were stuck in the ceiling.
I only noticed these at the end of third period when one boy pointed them out to another. (Period three worked quietly all period, so they had been in the ceiling since before.)
I was glad to have the darts removed, but I kind of knew what would come next.
The boy tossed the dart at the ceiling... and it bounced off.
To get them to stick takes a bit of skill. Throw them too hard and they bounce off. Too soft, and there's not enough force for them to attach. There should be a bit of spin on it, but if it hits the ceiling at the wrong angle, it won't stick.
It's the sort of activity that only goes unnoticed when the class is already difficult. Because the sound of the darts hitting the ceiling is kind of distinctive. (Although, if they go in, it might not be too loud.)
I know to shut this sort of thing down quick.
After the first one didn't stick, I retrieved the dark and tossed it in the trash.
As luck would have it (although, probably not luck), that boy had an appointment to do his work elsewhere that day. The teacher had several students going out, probably because they'd given previous subs issues. With him gone, I'd hoped the game was over.
Unfortunately, I had to throw out three more darts (and one of those twice) before the game was truly over.
Then they got to work? Nope. They still avoided the assignment, but at least they did it without throwing things at the ceiling.
Ceiling darts....if they put half as much effort into their schoolwork as they do with these distractions....
ReplyDeleteI know, right?
DeleteWhere did they get the staples? I'm thinking they had their own staplers? Never heard of these, LOL, but I'm not surprised. They'll try almost anything to afford work, some of them.
ReplyDeletebetty
You deserve a medal. The dumbing down of American children continues. When I went to school (back in the dark ages) we would have been afraid to ever done anything like this. Kids are just not afraid of anything anymore.
ReplyDeleteThey've been doing things like this for years. Usually it's pencils. They did that back when I was in school. (Not in the classes I was in, though. I took the hard classes.)
DeleteHuh, we always just used pencils. The times, they're a changin.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'd never heard of these - probably because I didn't use staples and sticky notes in school - but we still had plenty of things to annoy subs with. From what I remember, a sub in our class basically meant it was like study hall, and I wasn't a troublemaker at any rate.
ReplyDeleteKim
Some things have changed, others have stayed the same.
DeleteI can imagine a paper dart being a useful weapon in a mystery story.
ReplyDeleteBack in my day, my peers would launch spit balls at the ceiling. Much grosser than the darts.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I am pass eighth grade and both son got though it. No desire to redo that part of my life or as a parent.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
It is scary though as it could hurt someone.
ReplyDeleteSomething new for me. I never heard of this.
ReplyDeleteGlad I can be of service ;)
DeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteGood background for a story, perhaps.
Deleteyou can fight back against the darts, but they will prevail
ReplyDeleteWe'll see...
DeleteThere are other way more deserving sports that should be included first.
ReplyDeleteThe attempts at subversion astound me.
ReplyDeleteIf they put half the effort into their studies that they put into goofing off, they'd all have straight As. But I guess that's true of us all, right.
DeleteWhile these are frustrating in the classroom, they are a better alternative if your child asks if you if they can get a dartboard for their room...
ReplyDelete