Strange Timing

Last week was Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is an awareness campaign about the dangers of drug use. The middle schools were doing a "spirit week" where they got dress up days. They had the red ribbons tied on everything. It's a thing. 

Wednesday, I was at the continuation high school. Math. 

Fifth period. I got a call from the office. Who had just returned from the restroom? 

It was a curious question as I had a student out in the restroom, but the only student who had just gotten to class had just arrived with a tardy pass. 

When the student who had been in the restroom returned to class, I got another call from the office. At this point things got clarified. Who had been out of the room? I gave the clerk those names. 

About ten minutes later, the school counselor arrived. She told the two students who I had named to get their stuff and come with her. And she was not happy.

(The counselor is usually all smiles and pleasantries. The students like her. To get her stern voice was a change I was not expecting.)

A few minutes later, the boy who had actually had a restroom pass from me returned. The other boy did not.

Luckily, the next period I had a conference, so I went up to the office to ask. (Well, I went up to the office to use the restroom, but while I was there, I figured I'd find out what was up.) 

The answer was succinct: "Drug deal."

The custodian happened to be walking by the restroom and looked in. He saw one boy surreptitiously hand another boy something. The clerk watched where the boys returned to and then called us teachers to get names. 

Where I got confused was with the boy with the tardy pass. Apparently he had come to school late, and then instead of coming straight to class, he made a pit stop in the restroom. 

And when he got to class, well, let's just say that him buying drugs in the school restroom does not surprise me. In fact, considering how he looked and acted, it made that make a whole lot more sense. 

(The boy who actually had permission to use the restroom was probably just wrong place, wrong time.)

It's Red Ribbon Week. Why'd they have to do this in the specific week that's all about living drug free? 

*shakes head*

F-Bombed

On what ended up being my last subbing day for the school year, I was back in the math class at the continuation high school. It's been a while since I had seen the continuation high school, so it was nice to get there one last time before closing the year out.

It was third period. Jason walked in late. (I make no comment on tardy students as I'd rather they do show up to class. I do mark them tardy on the roll, though.) He immediately went to his computer and logged on.

I was doing my thing, and surprisingly getting called over to sign off on completed assignments for Brent. Brent is one of the well-known difficult students, so the fact that he was diligently working and not making waves was remarkable.

Jason had earbuds in and was listening to music. This is something that's so commonplace I rarely remark on it. If it helps them focus, great.

But, Jason got really into the music and started singing along. In the quiet classroom.

This would have only gotten a quiet nudge from me, except the lyrics Jason was singing along to were not appropriate for school. There was an f-bomb involved.

I informed Jason that he was using inappropriate language in the classroom, and he would owe "standards" (he'd have to write lines) as this is one of Mr. F's rules.

Jason protested. He hadn't said anything wrong. He was just enjoying Earvin's music.

This is where Brent chimed in. He confirmed that Jason had dropped an f-bomb. (Alas, by using the same word...)

Jason shrugged it off. There were only two days left of school. He wasn't going to write those standards.

Good luck with that, kiddo. Mr. F is rather strict about his rules, and arguing with him is like arguing at a brick wall. (Mr. F is a very even-tempered teacher. He doesn't yell. He doesn't get upset. But he slowly, steadily, and quietly enforces his rules.)

By the way, Mr. F is an author as well. You can find his author website here. 

Just a Phone Call

You know what it's like to listen to someone on a phone call? They talk. Then they pause. Then they talk again. You know you're hearing half the conversation. There are cadences to the speech. You can hear a different timbre to their voice.

You don't need to see the phone. You just kind of know by listening.

"I'm not on my phone. I'm talking to him."

Leah indicated her neighbor. This boy hadn't said a word. While Leah was clearly holding half a conversation with somebody.

I wasn't in the mood to argue. As I walked away, Leah said, "I told her I was working..." She related to her friend on the phone what had just interrupted their conversation.

It must be a generational thing. More than once I have tried to explain that they should not hold conversations on their phones in class. They always look at me like I'm being totally unreasonable.

Where's the weirdest place you've ever taken a phone call? What is something that other generations don't get about yours?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Earvin Strikes Again

As luck would have it, I was back in the math class at the continuation high school exactly a week after my last run in with Earvin...

(I've known Earvin for a while. Last week he pestered me until he managed to find a way to get excused from class. Check out the links for the full story.)

As soon as he arrived in class, he started working the excuses. Could he...?

I cut him off. I explained that I had gotten into trouble with the counselor last week for allowing him to leave class. (This was an exaggeration. While the counselor had talked to me, it was more of a heads up about Earvin's penchant for avoiding math than "trouble". But Earvin would more easily understand if I termed it "trouble".)

So, Earvin found a seat...

Alas, it wasn't his assigned seat.

(This teacher is pretty strict about lots of things, including students sitting in their assigned seats. They all know this, but they still grumble when I call them on it.)

The instructional aide requested that Earvin sit in his assigned seat. He argued that he wasn't bothering anybody in the seat he had chosen to sit. (He sat next to this girl...)

So, back and forth we went. He wanted to know why he had to sit in his assigned seat when he wasn't bothering anybody. (I wasn't about to get the girl into it. If he was bothering her, she wasn't saying.) I said we needed to follow his teacher's rules.

He said the teacher sometimes let him sit a couple seats away from his assigned seat. I said that would be fine. He countered with if that was fine, why couldn't he sit next to the girl, then?

We reached a stalemate. So, he asked to use the restroom. Someone was out of class, so he had to wait. Then he found the coup de grâce... Could he see the nurse?

I pretty much let anyone who asks go to the health office. They could be lying. But I don't know that for sure. So, of course, I let him go.

And so, Earvin managed to get out of math class without doing any work. Again.

Earvin: 2. Me: 0.

Although, I did record the whole thing for Mr. F to deal with upon his return.

What was your best excuse to get out of math class (or doing your math homework)? Or were you weird like me and actually liked math?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Avoiding Class

Math class at the continuation high school. Earvin was in period three.

Class had barely started when Earvin asked to go and talk to the counselor.

I called, but I got her voicemail. I knew she was on campus, but if her voicemail was picking up, that meant she was busy. And I wasn't going to send a student to her office if she was occupied with something else. So, I told Earvin no.

That should have been the end of it. But this is Earvin we're talking about.

He wanted to talk to someone "in the office". I knew the principal was off campus. No other administrators were around. Only the secretaries and clerks were there. But Earvin insisted, so I called to ask if he could go.

No.

Earvin was on a mission. He wanted out of class. So, now he needed to go "work" in another class. Could he go to another room?

Okay, fine. Which class?

I called the teacher. He didn't want Earvin either. (I don't blame him. I wouldn't take him if he wasn't enrolled in my class.)

So, we're done, right? Earvin realized he was stuck and got to work, right? No, of course not. Earvin picked another teacher to try.

"Is he driving you crazy?"

Well, yeah, but that's normal. I can take it for a period. I didn't say this, however. I don't remember what I said. But this teacher said yes.

I did state that Earvin could remain with me. Earvin overheard and protested...

So, in the end Earvin got out of math class and went to PE instead. It calmed the room way down. (There was this girl chasing him, and he was running away...)

But I ran into the counselor later. She told me that Earvin has been "getting out of" math quite frequently lately. He doesn't seem to get on with the teacher. However, he's getting close to finishing, and math is one of the few subjects he needs to finish, so he needs to stay in class.

(Turns out that not having the counselor answer the phone worked in his favor, for she would have said that he shouldn't go anywhere.)

The Troublemaker

On Thursday, Caleb stormed into the classroom, bellowing that I had "gotten him in trouble" as he thunked into his seat.

I attempted to explain that all I had done was to report what he had done, and he was the one who had gotten himself into trouble. I say "attempted" because Caleb wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise.

Sigh.

I'm not sure why he was surprised. Or angry. Because, seriously, he should have known.

On Wednesday, I was covering the math class at the continuation high school. (On Thursday I covered the computer literacy class at the same school, hence seeing Caleb again.) Caleb was in 3rd period. 3rd period is right after they have a 15 minute snack break.

The school has a fairly liberal restroom pass policy. The only restriction is that they're not supposed to go for the first or last 10 minutes of class.

Caleb walked into 3rd period just about at the bell. He insisted that he had to use the restroom right then. I told him he could go in 10 minutes.

Oh no. This was not going to work for him. He had to go right now.

If it was such a dire emergency, why didn't he go during snack? He had a full 15 minutes.

He was "busy" he said. Well, if he was busy, he clearly didn't need to go that badly. Then it turned into he didn't need to go during snack. My response was the same. (Or it might have been the other way around. Either way, the story changed as I questioned him on it.)

Caleb... Yeah, Caleb doesn't back down. He's one of those students who... I don't know how to describe him. But I've dealt with him quite a bit, so I knew it was going to be 10 minutes of arguing, and I just wasn't in the mood.

I informed Caleb that I'd let him go, but I was going to let Mr. F know what had transpired. He said he was okay with that.

Mr. F, the math teacher, is one of the strict ones. And they all know this. I knew that writing down this incident would result in a consequence for Caleb. He should have known it too.

So, when he stormed into the classroom the next day, I wasn't sure what the problem was. He had agreed that Mr. F would be informed. So, really, he should have known.

(Before I get comments about restricting restroom usage, if it's clear it's an emergency I wouldn't have hesitated to let him go. This was more a case of a failure to plan as he had just had a break.)

The Snitch

Monday I was back at the continuation high school. Math class.

They do all their work on computers, so my main job is to monitor them and make sure they're on task. (I also occasionally am called on to assist with problems that they're having difficulty with.) There is a computer program to help with this, and on this day I found that more of them were off task than on.

Not surprising. Annoying. So, I kept a list of those who were off task.

For some reason, they think they're sneaky by keeping their video tab small. Nope. I totally see that and note it.

In one class, a student decided to apply for a job online. While I applaud his determination, job applications are best filled out when one is not in math class (when one should be doing math). I told him something of the sort.

"But I need a job. I don't need math."

I should mention that he was applying to work in a retail environment.

I pointed out that math has some bearing on selling things. He argued that he didn't really need algebra.

Perhaps. Perhaps not. We did the usual argument. He refused to get back to work. I walked away (because belaboring the argument doesn't help). And, of course, I noted the exchange in my note to the teacher.

The next day I was back at the continuation high school but in a different class. Naturally, the job seeker was my classes this day, too.

He had a bone to pick with me. Apparently, his math teacher wasn't pleased that he was applying for work instead of doing his math.

"I thought we were chill. Why'd you have to snitch on me?"

I'm not sure what part of our conversation led him to believe that I was okay with him not being on task. Or why he'd think I wouldn't report what did and did not get done in class.

Deep sigh. Just another day dealing with teenagers.

Enemy Sub

Remember the boy from "Rolling Starbursts"? He remembers me. Unfortunately.

Seventh period math at the continuation high school. The bell rang. Then Terrence walked in.

"Are you going to mark me tardy?"

Well, of course.

"But I had to walk by the basketball courts..."

The continuation high school is not large. They have a four minute passing period. You can make it from the office to the classroom I was in (the farthest anyone ever has to travel) in about a minute. (Which I had to do earlier that same day.) So, there's really no excuse to be late.

Ah, but now I'm the enemy, so Terrence refused to do any work. And he was still angry that I told his science teacher about his game. (I asked if he had gotten into trouble. He admitted that he hadn't. So, why this animosity?)

As I was leaving for the day, I mentioned the tardy thing to the secretary. (It was an "isn't this funny" incident that I couldn't not share.) "I guess Terrence hates me."

Her reply: "There aren't very many people Terrence does like."

Oh. Suddenly Terrence's behavior makes a whole lot more sense. (And since I'm likely to forget all about this until I see Terrence again and he reminds me, as he had to remind me of the "Rolling Starbursts" as I hadn't remembered it was him until he said something, this won't trouble me too much.)

Note: If you live in Alaska, West Virginia, Nevada, Arizona, Maine, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Colorado, South Carolina, Arkansas, or Pennsylvania and are against the ACHA (and seriously, this is one bad bill; it will hurt everyone), would you take a moment and call your Senator(s)? Please. If you're not sure why or what to do, take a look at this post for links. 

Flailing

I was covering the math class at the continuation high school. They work on computers at their own pace. So, I spent the period monitoring them, trying to keep them on task.

But, when I'm there, they're on sub behavior. Their teacher (who is pretty strict) doesn't let them get away with a lot, so they're more likely to act up around me. Deep sigh.

When I'd see a kiddo not on task, I would ask if they were stuck and needed my help. Usually they said no and they'd get back on task, at least while I was standing over them. (This also elicited actual queries for help some of the time. And help I was happy to give.)

So, when I saw Parnell playing a game, I approached.

Parnell did need help. But rather than calmly explain what he wasn't getting, he flailed about, saying he didn't get anything and he couldn't do anything.

He was doing a unit on getting paid. Taking yearly salaries and breaking them down into how much one would get on a specific paycheck. So, I calmly read the question with him: if someone was getting paid monthly, and their annual salary was X, what would one need to do to figure out how much per paycheck?

He finally got an answer... that didn't match any of the choices he was given.

After some more flailing about, I had him do the problem again. Apparently he had miskeyed into the calculator as he got a right answer this time.

Since he was apparently back on track, I walked away. Only to look over and see he was back on his game. Naturally.

(The newest popular game at the continuation high school is Town of Salem. Considering the type of kiddos there, this is not surprising.)

Have you ever played Town of Salem? What is your favorite computer game?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Early Bell

I do keep an eye on the clock. At about two to three minutes until the end of the period, I announce to the class that it's time to clean up. But this day for fifth period, the class was packed up, cleaned up, and waiting by the door way before I made any sort of announcement. So, I asked...

"Why are you lining up at the door now? We've still got five minutes left of class."

"No we don't. We get out at 1:15."

"Nope. Class ends at 1:17." I pulled out a class schedule and showed him.

"But the bell rings at 1:15."

At a certain point the argument gets pointless, so we waited it out. 1:15... 1:16...

And the bell rang.

I was right. Well, sort of. Just because the clocks in the classroom were about 30 seconds slow does not negate this.

How to Distract a Sub (and SIL Update)

"Math is boring."

Okay, so I can't let that pass without comment.

Which somehow turned into a conversation about this video of two guys throwing a basketball off a dam...

(Don't ask. It was a rather meandering path our conversation took to here.)

After having gone this far afield from what he should have been doing--his math assignment--I figured it was time to end the conversation and remind him that he had work to do.

He took a look at the clock. He had managed to get me off topic for a good fifteen minutes. He considered that a win.

(Some students attempt to engage in conversation in an attempt to avoid doing work. Usually, they don't find a topic that'll keep me talking. This boy managed to do so. And didn't hide that that was his goal when the conversation finished.)

Ah well.

Now that it was clear I was on to his tricks, he turned his attention to the instructional aide (IA). He asked about her weekend. (It was a Monday.)

The IA had spent her Saturday shopping for a turquoise mid-century sofa. And a chair to go with it. The boy started searching out possibilities online for the matching chair. (The IA ordered the sofa but couldn't find a chair she liked.)

By the time the IA got wise, there were 10 minutes left in class.

Ah well. You win some. Some the students win.

* * *

There's a new update about my sister-in-law's condition. 

Previously I shared my sister-in-law's GoFundMe with you all. From that post:

Heather, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2012. She has an aggressive form of MS, and she needs help for her best treatment option... (Go here for the full post.) 

Three months ago there was another update. And just this week, things have gotten grim indeed...

 ***August 22nd update***
Here is the latest. Heather is currently on the road, driving with a nurse to Northwestern University near Chicago. Why is she doing this, you ask? Well, here is why. Her bone marrow is failing. Quickly.  

The clinical trial she was in at the Mayo Clinic was unsuccessful. Her trip to Panama was a major success in reversing damage but was not able to fix her bone marrow. Extensive blood and bone marrow tests came back positive for two things-- myleofibrosis and acute myeloid leukemia. The thing is, those two conditions can’t exist at the same time. The doctor who examined her blood and sent the results said that he has never seen results like this… ever. He classified the results “inconclusive.” (Go here for the full update.) 

If any of you have any Marriott rewards points, they could really use your help. Thank you.

Breakdown

I was covering the math class at the continuation high school. (I know many people are already back in school. We are not. But, the continuation high school starts a month earlier than the rest of the district, so they are in school now.)

The majority of the math work is done on computer. The students can work at their own pace. It's a great system. 

This one boy reminded me a lot of Snoop Dogg. So, when he raised his hand, I was expecting a whole different sort of encounter. But, he was having technical difficulties. 

The program would not let him submit his test. It was done. But the button that would file the test and grade it wouldn't work. 

Uh oh. My usual "fix" is to have the students reboot the computer. But rebooting the computer would erase the test. 

We were out of my wheelhouse. Before I could panic too much, I got called over by other students. Everyone, apparently, was having internet issues. Well, that's a problem I can do something with. There's a tech guy on campus. 

Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything to help. It turned out that the website (the ones that all the students needed to do the day's work) was down. (The tech guy had gotten a call from other classes that use the same program.) 

There was a backup assignment in place, fortunately. But did anyone do it? Mostly, no. My Snoop Dogg clone? He totally would have done the backup assignment, but he had done it already. 

On the bright side, the website was back up and running for the next class.

Hiding in the Bathroom

I think that many of the students at the continuation high school have a serious cell phone addiction. Well, it's either that or they just don't care to make even a pretense of abiding by the school rules. Perhaps it's both.

I was in the math class. One boy had his cell phone out, texting or something rather than doing the assigned work. So, I told him to put the cell phone away.

A few minutes later, I returned to him, and his cell phone was out again. I thought my warning was pretty clear--put the phone away and get to work. Apparently not. So, this time I made my warning abundantly clear. The next time I saw his cell phone, he was going to turn it into the office.

Sure enough, a few minutes after that, he was on his phone again. He'd been warned.

But no. Now he was going to "be good". He finally headed for his computer. He'd keep the phone put away.

Um, right. Sure. Because my previous two warnings were so well heeded.

We did the usual dance, with me informing him that he could take the phone to the office or I could call the office to come and get it. He finally left.

At one point, I had glanced down at the paper he'd been working on, so when I called the office to inform them that he was on his way, I gave that name. And was promptly informed by the class at large that that was not the boy's name. The boy I named was sitting right there.

So, what was his name? No one seemed to know.

I called the office back. The secretary told me that two boys had just diverted into the bathroom.

After a bunch of back and forth, we finally figured out the name of the boy I'd sent. But he still hadn't come out of the bathroom. The secretary sent someone in to get him. (This boy had just come out of the bathroom. He claimed that he had no idea if anyone else was in there.)

The boy had planned to hide in the bathroom, either for the rest of the period or until he figured he'd been in there long enough to convince me that he had given up his cell phone. Because that is what they do now. (Which is why we call the office to tell them that someone is coming to turn in a cell phone.)

If only they put this kind of effort into their schoolwork. See why I think some of them have a real addiction problem?

The Debate

7th period math. They were just getting started on their computers when I noticed they weren't on their assigned computers. I informed them that they were to be in assigned seats.

"Why can't I sit here? All the computers are the same."

True. But teachers assign seats so students will work. Some students can't be trusted to sit next to friends. This is not what I said, however.

"You have assigned seats in this class. You need to be in your assigned seats."

"But Mr. F isn't here."

"This is still his class, so we'll abide by his rules."

And still he argued the point. I'm not sure why. I don't think I was wavering in my resolve. But I guess I seem like I'm open to debate. So, at this point I shut it down.

He reluctantly said he'd move. Said he had to shut down the computer...

Which is an old stalling tactic. Student says he's doing what was asked of him, but it's going to take a minute. I go deal with something else to give him time to comply. Five minutes later, he's still there, now entrenched, and the battle starts again. "You're serious? But you left. I'm doing well, so please let me be..."  

The phone rang. Guess who they were calling for. He was being picked up at the main office and was going home for the day.

Saved by the call.

I got off the phone and told him he was leaving. His first reaction was to argue--he thought I was sending him out of class.

After he left, I went to shut down his computer. Had he even begun to log off? Nope. He was logging on, not off.

I'm so glad I didn't have to continue to fight that battle. I would have won, but it was nice not to have to put in the effort.

Oblivious

Math class at the continuation high school. They all work at their own pace on a program that takes them through whichever course they're on (algebra or business math).

It's generally an easy day. Most of them can work on their own, going through the examples from the program. Occasionally someone will need a bit more help (which gives me something to do).

They are not to be surfing the internet. (He does allow them to listen to music, so most of them had a music site going in the background with their earbuds in.) And when someone would stray, I would stand over them, and that was generally enough to get them back on task.

7th period. I noticed one boy was on something that was definitely not math related. So, I approached.

Once I stood behind him, I saw that he was playing a boxing game. I said something about that not looking like the math assignment. No response.

He was sitting at the corner computer. I was directly behind him. And he had earbuds in. The way that station was situated, I couldn't get into a position where he could see me from where he sat. (Although, I would think that my presence right behind him would have been noticed.) So I tried again.

The girl sitting next to him tried to alert him to my presence. She tapped him on the shoulder. When he ignored that, she tried more emphatic means of getting his attention. Which he also ignored.

I waved a hand in front of his face. This he ignored, too.

Finally, he realized that I was behind him, and he took an earbud out. I told him to get back to the math. He attempted the stalling tactic. "Can't I just finish this game?"

Since he made some pretense of getting to work (he did turn off the game), I was going to let this slide. (The teacher is very strict.) But then at the end of the period, he really ticked me off.

I have this thing about students writing on the board. The boy pulled out the dry erase marker. I told him not to. But those earbuds were in again. And he completely ignored me (or didn't hear me, but I think the earbuds were an excuse) and wrote on the board anyway.

Another student (on the way out the door) said that I was going to "give" them a bad note. Nope. Just the ones who were clearly not getting anything done.

Also, I'm at Unicorn Bell all this week. I'd love it if you'd stop by and say "hi".

Too Hot in Here

"Please make sure you leave your doors closed and your air conditioning running."

The nearby wildfire affected the air quality. At the time the office made that announcement, my classroom door was closed. But the room wasn't all that warm. I saw no need to turn on the air conditioning.

But fifth period was warm.

"They said you had to have the air conditioning on."

The room was at a comfortable room temperature (like 68° or 70°). I was in short sleeves. I have a tendency to run warm (and more often than not am accused of leaving the room freezing), so if I was pretty comfortable, there was no need for air conditioning. I told them no.

"But it's warm in here."

Rather than continue this conversation across the whole class, I joined the boys who were complaining. That's when I noticed their bulky sweatshirts. Which they couldn't remove as they weren't wearing t-shirts underneath.

Bad planning on their part was not a reason for me to have the air conditioning on.

I say it was bad planning, because the forecasted temperature for that day was 86°. The previous day had been just as warm. There was no excuse for dressing like they were expecting a cold snap.

Besides, the minute I would turn on the a/c, I'd get someone complaining it was too cold.

I can't win. So, I no longer play.

(Of course, in sixth period I got warm. Seventh period complained that it was too cold. Sigh.)

Fire Not-So-Adjacent

I saw the cloud as I left my house that morning. It was rather odd, as the weather forecast had said it would be sunny. But the cloud--it was a dark gray with a strange orange tinge.

I didn't think too much more about it. I was running late. I got to the school, got into the class, and got the day started. Then the class's instructional aide arrived.

"Is there a fire someplace?"

Ah ha! That's what that cloud was!

A quick internet search gave me a location (I'm referring to the Colby Fire). Close enough that we would see the smoke cloud. (The fire was big enough to to give off such a huge cloud.) Far enough away that we were in no danger. So, we just needed to go on with our day.

I took a peek outside. The cloud had grown. What had been cloud-like was now a streak covering all the sky to the north of us. And, of course, we could smell it.

"They have to cancel school. This is unsafe."

The air quality wasn't ideal. Asthma sufferers and other breathing-issue people probably needed to take it easy. But the rest of us could muddle through. We stayed indoors. We kept the doors closed. There was no reason to cancel school.

The students didn't see it that way.

Some ash misted down. Girls who went outside to go to the restroom returned complaining of ash in their hair and eyes. I noticed it most when I left for the day (my car was lightly dusted with it).

Of course, if it had been that bad, no one would have willingly gone outside. But try telling that to them. No, it was a danger, and we had to go home.

Any excuse to get out of school...

Gray Area

Dilemma.

Math class at the continuation high school. They do all their work on the computer, so my job is to make sure they're on the proper program (not checking their Twitter feeds), their scores are recorded as they finish each section, and they have any extra help if they get stuck. Easy day.

Second period needed a bit of a push. Two students hung back acting like they were just going to chill until I reminded them that it was class time. They went to their computers and logged in.

The two boys were on their assigned computers. The correct program was up. They did not slip onto Twitter, Facebook, or any of the other myriad websites that the kids these days like. (I watched.)

However, they were not doing any work.

Should I mention them in my note to their teacher?

Generally, I mention the names of students who behave badly. From time to time, I'll note students who don't work all that well. But it depends on the situation. Students who end up at the continuation high school weren't the most industrious of workers. If they had been, they would never have gotten to the point where they needed to go to the continuation high school.

While the boys weren't doing much at all, they weren't behaving badly. Staring at walls is not behaving badly as far as I'm concerned. They weren't disturbing anybody. They didn't talk back to me. The only thing they were doing wrong was not doing the assignment.

But this teacher is pretty strict. Writing that in my note would get them in trouble.

Which leads to my dilemma: mention them in the note or not.

It's not like the teacher won't know they didn't work. He can see they made no progress. The computers record all sorts of things, like how long a student was on a particular problem or section.

It's a good day when this is what I worry about.

Scramble

5th period was crazy. The students were fine. I just couldn't keep up.

I was back at the continuation high school. Math. I've covered for this teacher before. I knew what to expect. But it was the unexpected that caught me off guard.

First, the instructional aide was out. Usually I can lean on her for certain things. She can help one student while I'm busy helping another. She also knows where the teacher's materials are located. I found the students' folders. But I couldn't find the binder which contained the keys for the work.

The class is structured so each student can work at his/her own pace. When a student finishes an assignment, the teacher (or aide) signs the student's contract to indicate that the assignment was complete. Some students plow through and get several sections done in a day.

So, 5th period arrived. I noted who was absent on the seating chart before releasing the students to their computers. And then the craziness began.

First, a student needed me to check off his assignment. But the keys were missing, so that meant that I had to go through and figure out each problem to make sure each was correct. But before I could do that, a new student arrived. So, I had to get him settled.

Each new student needs a folder, a contract, and an explanation as to how the class works and what to do. I managed to find the first assignment, and I settled the student next to someone who knew how the class operated. She was kind enough to walk him through how he needed to proceed.

Then I got called away to check off two other students, someone needed a restroom pass, and then another new student showed up. I found one student playing computer games instead of working, and he told me that his folder was missing. Just what I needed--something else to track down.

Finally, I had a moment to sit down and check the first student's work. Then two others needed the same.

I found contracts for the two new students (and folders too), got all the work checked off, and then I had time to sit down and fill out the roll sheet (which I usually do within the first five minutes of class).

And then I stopped to take a breath. I looked around the silent classroom. Everyone was working. And I was finally caught up.

I noted the time. It only took me 35 minutes.

I never did find the one student's folder. He said it had been missing for three days. I made a cursory search, and then I noted it in my note to the teacher.

I'm going to rest now. How was your day?

Ninja Skills

I was at the continuation high school today. Math class. The students do all their work on computers. They access their textbook and work through the problems at their own pace. The program has animated examples, so the students pretty much work on their own all period.

My job was to assist when the students got stuck (sometimes they had a hard time understanding the examples) and to check off the assignments on their sheets when they finished. They had to get at least 70% correct on each before they got credit. Many managed to get through two or three sections during class.

The computers were set up along the three walls of the class. The front wall was where the teacher's desk was. When the students were working, their backs were to the front of class, so I could see what was on their computers, but they would have to turn around to see me.

One student raised her hand. I checked off her assignment; she got 100%, so I initialed her paper. Two students over, one boy was having a conversation that was inappropriate for class.

I wasn't really listening. All I heard was the F-bomb. So, I called him on it. And I shocked him.

"Man, you've got ninja skills."

He didn't realize that I was right behind him. He hadn't heard me. And I guess he didn't feel me behind him.

I played like I heard the entire conversation (it was more fun that way), and I reminded him that he shouldn't be saying such things in class. (I couldn't really pull the "get to work" bit that I usually pull as he was on task at that moment. His side conversation was more of a random comment.) Then I walked away.

It's fun to catch students off guard like that. It happens to me a lot. They'll say something and then realize that I heard every word. Their reactions are priceless.