Monday. Forensic science. Fifth period.
The assignment: they were to watch the second half of a video on Amanda Knox. They had questions to answer that went along with it.
And... I hate showing videos. The kiddos don't watch them. They talk. Do they do any of the writing they're supposed to do? Of course not. They had received the questions in the previous class period when the video was started. (I had extras if any student needed another paper.)
So, it was the end of the period, and I was going around and collecting the work. One of the students who had spent the period ignoring the video and talking to her friend had nothing to turn in, naturally. When I pointed out that she should have been watching the video (I had repeatedly shushed her during it), she complained that she couldn't understand the video because it had been in Italian.
Italian? Uh, no.
I'm not going to rehash the whole Amanda Knox trial and such, but the whole ordeal took place in Italy. And, some of the people interviewed spoke in Italian. Not everyone, but yes, some of the video was in Italian.
But the subtitles were on. The captioning was on. And when someone was speaking in Italian, on screen was the translation in English. (I watched the thing with them. No glitches. The subtitles were working.)
I pointed out that the subtitles were on. Her reply: "I couldn't see the screen."
Uh... So, all classrooms now have the big screen TVs that the teachers use for slide presentations as well as videos. The classroom is configured in such a way so that all the students can see the screen easily. If a student can't see the screen, they are generally moved to someplace where they can.
Did this student say anything about having trouble seeing the screen? Nope. She just talked to her friend.
If you want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse. This girl. All excuses.
Those excuses won't help her grade, though. At least she'll have some excuses to explain to her parents as to why she doesn't have a good grade this early in the school year.
Blaming the Italian when the English subtitles are right there on the screen is quite a creative excuse. Reading along is really all it takes. "If you don't want to, you'll find an excuse" is going on my fridge.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have heard so many excuses...
DeleteThat’s so true! If you want to do something you’ll find a way. I can’t stand people who are all excuse
ReplyDeleteIt gets tiring.
DeleteShe was full of excuses!
ReplyDeleteShe was.
DeleteItalian? So 'Das Boot' is probably out of the question. Even though IT has subtitles.
ReplyDeleteWait. SUBtitles. I made a funny.
Pardon the pun.
For some reason, that girl really got me to scratching my head. At least she paid just enough attention to hear the Italian. But a forensic science class - why is she even taking it if she had that kind of attitude? (I'm assuming it's an elective). (Incidentally, I understand that Ms. Knox has pursued a comedy career. Life does take some strange turns.)
ReplyDeleteIt's an "extra year of science" requirement, but there are many choices for that extra year. Physics. Environmental science. Anatomy & physiology. Intro to health care careers. And those are the ones that pop off the top of my head.
Delete