Recognized and Remembered

At the continuation high school there is an orientation class. It is a class for the newcomers, the ones that have just transferred from their other schools. 

On the second day of school, I was surprised by this orientation class fourth period. The school is making some adjustments with how they do things (some practices were out of date, and it was time to rethink and redo them). And so now Mr. G has a period of orientation. Okay, then...

As with every new group, there were several students I did not recognize. But there were a couple who I did. And I was not surprised to see them. 

I did not say anything to Jensen even though I immediately recognized him. 

But, on Friday, Jensen brought it up. 

Jensen: "Do you remember me from the alternative education center?"

Me: "Yup. I even remember you from [traditional high school]."

Jensen: Looking confused. Then recognition dawns. "Oh, the English class..."

Yeah, among others. 

The good news: Jensen can't really roam like he did at the traditional high school as there's nowhere to roam. And he seems to have matured a little. (Very little.) 

But now I get to see him when I go to the continuation high school. Of course, that means he can't escape me as well. *evil grin*

The Runner

Orientation at the continuation high school. This is the first class that every student who enters the school takes. (So, going in I know that all the kiddos are newbies.)

As they filed in, I stood at the front of the room. It seemed to take forever before the bell rang, but I don't start class until it does. I looked out the door, and I noticed a boy running through the front gate. He was headed our way.

I've mentioned before that the campus is small. The students don't really need the full four minutes they get for passing. At this point, the grounds were mostly empty except for the boy, who vaulted over the railing in front of the classroom.

He darted into the classroom and slid into a seat.

"Five. Blocks. Six. Minutes."

He was out of breath.

And the bell still hadn't rung. He had made it on time. Apparently after leaving very late.

He told his fellow classmates that he had run the entire way.

He turned to me and asked if he could go and get a drink of water. Which, of course, I let him get. So, he darted out to get it.

While he was getting the water, the bell rang to start class. (I still counted him on time. After that, he deserved it.)

Pointless Lie

When students leave their "home" schools and transfer to the continuation high school, they first take a class called orientation. It lasts about a month, and it covers how the continuation high school works. It's also an opportunity for them to earn other credits in various subjects. (They get sent to the continuation high school because they've failed several classes, so they do need these credits.)

As I've covered orientation many times, I'm familiar with the routine. So, when I noticed Kendrick was off task, I gently prodded him about getting to work.

"I only need five credits."

Yeah, orientation is worth five credits. But they can earn more if they put the work in. (They can earn less if they do nothing.) I explained...

"No, I only need five credits."

I was confused. There's no way the continuation high school would take a transfer from a student who was only five credits short. There's a waiting list for entrance. Besides, five credits can be made up in summer school or credit recovery which is offered before and after school at the high schools.

"I'm not new. I've been going here for years."

And only then did I catch on. He was lying to me.

I get lied to all the time. Blatantly, sometimes. About all sorts of things. But this lie caught me completely unawares.

I guess it was because it wasn't even a plausible lie.

I suppose he saw a sub, thought he could play it off like he was about to graduate, and figured he'd con me into letting him do nothing. Ah, how little he realizes how badly he misjudged the situation...

via GIPHY

Watching Netflix

It was afternoon at the continuation high school. The afternoon classes are different than the morning classes. The morning students are a bit more focused.

The class was working on computers at their own pace through the lessons. Everything they need was pretty much on the programs, so my job was just to monitor. And unblock various lessons as they would become blocked.

(It's one of the weird components of this particular program. If the student goes back to redo a lesson they've not passed, it blocks them out. Sometimes.)

I've covered this class numerous times. Enough times that the teacher had shown me how to unblock things so the students could keep working in her absence.

I walked the room. One boy was on Netflix watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory. (It was a Big Bang Theory kind of day.) You know, instead of doing his work.

I told him to get to work. He told me he was blocked. He then said he knew I couldn't unblock him, so rather than saying something, he found a way to entertain himself.

Yeah, he could have asked. Because, I could, and did, unblock him.

I returned a bit later. What was he doing? Still watching the episode. Because he was getting "caught up".

Okay, so once, I'll let slide. But after I fixed the problem? Yeah, that's now something his teacher will hear about.

Sheldon

It's been a while since I was last at the continuation high school. So, it was nice to go back.

First period, the class was media art. They were working on animations.

Class hadn't yet started. Most had found their seats and were logging onto their computers. One boy, though, was pulling a chair in a circle around him. I questioned him.

"I have to find a good chair."

Another student explained: "He's our Sheldon".

Okay, I can see wanting a chair without a bum wheel. And considering that he found the chair he was testing to be adequate (and worked the rest of the period), I let the whole thing pass without further comment.

Where You At?

Last week, I talked about Alec not being able to log into Odyssey to do his assignments. I thought it went without saying, but some of the comments made me rethink my position. Alec did not forget his birthday. He was trying to get out of doing anything by playing at not being able to log in. Little did he realize that I'm the type of sub who will find a way...

One of the issues with Odyssey is that it "locks out" the students periodically. It's either the "test" assignment or the student has to redo something before they can move on. This is not a big deal for the teacher, as she can just go in and fix the issue so the students can continue working.

However, when there's a sub who doesn't have access, the students can get "locked out" and be stuck. For an entire period (or, in this case, two). Which is bad news for the sub, as the students tend to get into mischief when they have nothing to occupy their time.

Earlier this school year, Ms. R taught me how to override many of the lockouts. So, when the students actually got to work and found the usual issues, I went to work making sure they could continue (and not slip onto slither.io).

In the second hour (they have her for two periods), the lockouts started to mysteriously disappear. Ms. R, in her lesson plan, had said she'd clear things from home, but when she wasn't doing that in the first hour, I did. When I realized that she was doing that, I logged off.

Alec was flummoxed, though. It was clear Ms. R was doing this, as she was sending all the students messages (telling them what they got wrong so they could fix it).

Alec demanded to know where she was. I told him to ask her. So, he typed in: wya

Me: Does she know what that means?

Alec: Probably not.

Me: Then you'd better explain.

Alec (typing): where you at

Ms. R (message): At home. Sick.

The next day, I saw Ms. R, and we discussed the class. She told me she had planned on clearing out the Odyssey lockouts, but she fell asleep and didn't wake until the second hour. Then we got to Alec.

I was right. She had no idea what "wya" meant. She only responded because he clarified. For some reason, she was impressed that I had been standing over him during that whole exchange.

This is when she told me that Alec had turned in a lot of assignments that day. So, apparently once he gets started, he makes progress.

I learned something important that day (for the next time I cover these classes): the password to log them into Odyssey is the same password they use to log them onto the computer. (So, since Alec could get on the computer, he was totally faking not knowing his password for Odyssey.)

Forgotten Birthday

Last week, I was back at the continuation high school. It's state testing time, and I had been contracted to help. They did the testing in the morning, and then in the afternoon the students who weren't being tested showed up to have a "normal" school day. (As normal as it could be at a different time and missing half the students.) 

On Monday, I covered the afternoon classes of a teacher who was out sick. The orientation classes. 

Unsurprisingly, the students who weren't testing arrived wound up and not in a working mood. Since I was going to have them for two hours, this wasn't going to fly. The first thing I had to do was clamp down on them and get them on task. 

"I'm done." 

There is no "done". Not in orientation. Sure, Alec might have completed the "orientation" portion of the curriculum, but when that happens, the teacher assigns the students work for other classes. If they weren't missing credits from classes they should have already passed, they never would have been enrolled at this school. 

Alec claimed he could prove it. Okay, then. Only, he had trouble logging onto the program. 

He put in his username. Typed in a 6-digit password. Got an error message. Rinse. Repeat. 

I went into problem solving mode. Had he written down the password? No. And he couldn't recall it. 

Alec explained that he had done so much weed he couldn't now retain information like passwords. (He's 16.) He told me the teacher usually had to log him in. 

Desperate (there was no way I was letting him play slither.io for two hours), I called the counselor, hoping she had the passwords. 

She did. Turns out, the password is his birthday. Which she rattled off for me. 

I went back to Alec. Told him his password was his birthday. He typed in 6 digits again and still got an error message. He tried this a few more times... 

Okay, let me try... 

And I logged him in, first try. 

And... he was not finished with his assignments. Naturally. 

(Funnily enough, Alec got quite a lot accomplished that day, according to his teacher. I talked to her the next day. She was able to monitor what they were doing at home, but that's a whole 'nother blog post.)

Too Dark for Brown Eyes

I was doing my usual walk-around, making sure all the students were on task. A couple of them were fiddling with their monitors. Occasionally, students will start playing with the controls on the monitors, so I stopped to see what was the matter. (Sometimes things break...)

"We're adjusting the brightness. It's too dark for our dark brown Mexican eyes..."

Which was one of the silliest things I'd heard in a while.

Me: "Too dark for brown eyes? I have brown eyes, too..."

They had been facing away from me. Now they turned around. Peered into my eyes.

"Oh, you do! For some reason, I thought your eyes were blue."

*shaking my head* If they wanted to adjust the brightness on their monitors, I wasn't going to stop them. But they find excuses for just about everything.

Not Interested in Free Food

It was Turkey Day. It's an old tradition at the continuation high school, going back to practically when the school started (so, that makes it from the '60s). The Thursday before Thanksgiving the students are served a turkey dinner lunch brunch.

This year I covered the orientation class. The orientation class is the first class students new to the school take. (Every student is a transfer from another school. They get sent there because they don't have enough credits.) And this class started two days prior. So, they were brand new to the school.

They were a bit unclear as to the whole concept. Which was fine as I wasn't.

One of the students' names was called. And she didn't want to go.

I explained what it was. That it was food. And the food was pretty good. That the people were friendly. But nope, she wasn't going to go.

Well, I wasn't going to force her.

Each time a new group was announced, the students got a bit anxious. And unlike in other classes, these kiddos were doing their work (well, sort of) rather than not doing anything (which is what students who have been through Turkey Day before would have been doing). So, not a terrible day.

My time with them ended, and they moved on to their other class. I was free then, so I got a chance to have a meal. And then the majority of those students were called.

I guess they just needed to go with their classmates. Safety in numbers and all that.

That I Do Remember

"Do you remember me?"

It's a common question. The answer is usually no.

An average class contains 33 students. Sometimes 35. Not usually much less than 30. I'll see five periods a day.

While I may get some students over and over, there are some students I see once and then not again. And unless there's some memorable incident...

"You confiscated my cell phone."

Again, not a detail that makes the student stand out.

"I was taking a picture... of her..."

The girl was two seats over.

"And I took out my battery..."

Aha! Yep, that I do recall. It was memorable enough that I wrote about it.

I mentioned that he was being way too paranoid. He said that the principal actually did go through his phone. Looking for drug references. And the boy's sister yelled at the administration for the violation of the student's privacy. So, apparently it became a big huge thing.

Ah well...

I was at the continuation high school. It was the orientation class--the first class the students take when they're first sent out of the other schools.

So, I'm kind of not surprised to see that he ended up there.

Half a Story

"I was chewing gum, nothing unusual, when Mr. F said that there was no gum allowed in his room. He asked me to spit it out. I thought about spitting it at him, but then..."

And that's when the girl turned around in her chair to find me standing behind her.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked.

At this point, I wanted to hear the end of the story. Because I know Mr. F. He's not the sort of teacher who tolerates such misbehavior. And I wondered why she got so upset over so little.

And I wanted her to, oh, I don't know, perhaps...STOP CHATTING AND START WORKING!

Well, with me standing there, the story was at an end. Not that she got back to doing any work. No. She just started talking about something else.

It wasn't until I walked away that she went back to the story.

Alas, the reason I walked away was to assist another student, so I did not get the end of the story. Too bad. But that's usually how these things work out.

Sweating in the Winter

When I walked into the classroom last Monday, the thermostat read 45°. And my jaw hit the floor.

Last week started off cold. It had been cold for a few weeks. Well, cold for us. I know the rest of you that get real weather, like snow, consider us wimps, and perhaps we are. No, no perhaps. I guess it's just what you're used to, and we're used to things being a little bit warmer.

I shivered under my heavy sweater. Then I turned on the heater.

The heater worked well. By the time the class showed up, the temperature was up to 52°. By the end of first period, we were at a comfortable 70°.

About that time, when we had achieved room temperature, a girl called me over.

"Could you turn on the air conditioner? It's too warm in here."

Never fails. I don't care what the temperature is. Someone always wants me to turn on the air conditioner.

Begging for Volunteers

The assignment: read a current events article together as a class and then answer some questions based on the reading.

We were to read the article together because if we didn't, it was likely that the students wouldn't bother to read the thing at all. And I didn't pass out the questions, because I knew that if I did, most of the students would answer the questions while we were supposed to be reading the article together.

I know all this from experience. I knew that I was going to have to draw things out as there were only seven questions, and they were going to finish quickly.

Luckily, no one volunteered to read.

It's kind of scary to get up in front of a class in this situation. Most days, I can get someone to volunteer. If the class is small enough, I can just go up and down rows and make everyone read. But when I called for volunteers, they all just looked at me. No one made a move.

It wasn't like they couldn't. I have been in situations where the students did have reading issues. I try to be sensitive to that. But in this case, it was just inertia. No one wanted to do anything.

Eventually, I browbeat someone into reading. Then another long pause, and then someone else volunteered. I took some time to discuss the article, but I couldn't go into much depth as I was unsure of some of my facts (I didn't want to say something was true and find out later that I'd been lying to them).

We got about halfway through when someone asked if there were questions. Then they wanted me to pass them out, but I wasn't going to do that. We had to finish the article first.

After a while, we did get to the end. Even though it seemed like it took a long time, they still had ages to finish the questions. They got finished with everything quickly.

What I needed were index cards with everyone's name on them. Then I could shuffle and at random. I never can tell ahead of time if I'm going to get a group with eager readers or not.

Little Noises

Thursday was basically a repeat of Wednesday. (Although, the boy chose to ask me to move to the back of the room rather than telling me he was sitting there. Better approach, and I rewarded him accordingly.) Well, mostly.

The last two groups of the day were the orientation class. This is the first class that students new to the continuation high school take. They do packet work, some barreling through many assignments while others stare at walls and get next to nothing done. No matter which option they choose, they are supposed to sit there silently, and for the most part they did.

Then the drops started.

I'm pretty sure it was this one girl. She informed me that she was done with everything. I told her to go on to the next chapter. She didn't believe that she should. (I'm familiar with the class. The next chapter was the next assignment.) So, instead she played with her lips.

Then on the other side of the room, a boy developed a sinus issue. He blew his nose, but then he continued to sniffle. Loudly. Every two minutes. And it didn't sound like he was clearing anything.

Neither of these things should have bothered me. But since the rest of the class was silent, it was hard to ignore them.

Then my cell phone started buzzing.

Oops.

When students use cell phones in class, there are consequences (here's another example). So, I keep my phone out of sight and silent during class. I figure it's only fair, as that's the requirement for the students. And usually there are no issues.

But, I just got a shiny new phone, and I haven't figured it all out yet. I thought I had it on silent. I must have enabled some notification, because no one was calling and I had not received a text. (I checked after class.)

At least the students were nice enough not to call me on it. (Then again, I hadn't confiscated any of their phones. Of course, that's because they were smart enough to keep them out of sight.)

Not Scary Enough

First period went really well. I wasn't surprised. This teacher's classes tend to behave (even though this is the continuation high school). Then second period arrived. 

I had been warned to make sure that the students sat in their assigned seats. So, when three boys took up spots in the tables at the back of the room, I knew something was up. The seating chart had no one sitting there. 

When called on it, one boy informed me that Ms. W. I had told him he could sit back there. Sure, yesterday, maybe. No, he explained that he asked her yesterday if he could sit back there today. I reminded him that Ms. W. was not in class today, so I needed him to sit in his assigned seat. He was having none of it. 

Before I determined my next step (referral?), security walked in. He was looking for a student who was not on my roll sheets. But before he had a chance to ask the question, the boy scrambled back to his assigned seat. 

Interesting how he could be so belligerent with me but compliant the minute another adult stepped into the room. 

I should be used to this by now. It's how most students treat the sub. 

For the rest of the period, the boy worked. Quietly and diligently. Other students would say "Security!" and that would get him to look around, but other than that, the period was unremarkable. 

I don't know what it is about having a sub that makes students try to get away with things. Did you ever try to get away with something with a sub? What was it, and did you succeed? 

Missing the Mark

We had a little dust-up in second period today. The kids used to call this "shootin'," but I'm sure the term has changed since the 7th grader explained that it meant hurling insults back and forth. Travis started, and Kevin responded in kind. They talked about each other's hair, clothing, and other stuff I didn't catch. I focused on getting them to stop.

It ended. I insisted. Travis told Kevin that he would "get him" at snack. This was 10 minutes away. I didn't want to encourage fighting outside, but I was happy that the whole thing was over.

When I passed the two boys outside (on my way to the restroom), I found that they had drawn a crowd. Their "fight" remained verbal. Whew.

Third period started. The students had all witnessed the dust-up in second period and the resulting show outside during snack. They discussed.

Derek explained to the class that Travis was an idiot. Travis thought that when people laughed at him, they were laughing at his jokes. Derek said that what people were really laughing at was Travis, but Travis hadn't figured that out.

Derek then told me that when the video got posted to YouTube I would see what he meant. (I didn't see any cameras, but Derek said it was recorded.)

I'm not sure if I'm comforted by this or not (the the-other-students-think-Travis-is-an-idiot part, not the incident-got-recorded part). At least I'm not the only one who thinks that Travis is way over the top. I hope that Travis will soon figure out that he's not as cool or as funny as he thinks.

Self Awareness

I was yet again at the continuation high school today. Orientation classes. These are the students who are brand new to the CHS. They have only just left a traditional high school due to not being on track to graduate on time. 

After they finish the orientation coursework, they can get started earning credits for any classes that they failed. Many in the class were to this point, so they were working on health or geography. 

Boy: "Geography is a sophomore class?" 

Girl: "Freshman." 

Boy: "Of course. I f***ed around freshman year." 

Girl: "Me too." 

Hence, why they are now at the CHS. 

I should have gotten on their cases for the dropping of the f-bomb, but I let it slide due to the context of the conversation. The next thing they said, however, was that they shouldn't have used that language. 

This bodes well for them. I hope they plan to take advantage of the opportunity the CHS affords. Others in the class did not make such good use of their time.

The Switch

Yesterday, I got a surprise phone call from the sub caller. It's been rare this school year to get called ahead for assignments, so I wasn't expecting it. Only after I hung up my phone did the name of the teacher register. While not ideal, it was work, so I mentally braced myself for the day. (I have subbed for this teacher before.)

This morning as I was getting ready, I got a reprieve. The sub called explained that the continuation high school was down three teachers, so she needed to switch me. (This sort of thing has happened before.)

I was more than a bit relieved. I didn't even mind that I was early (the continuation high school starts later).

It was a good switch. The worst thing to happen all day was having to deal with a student who looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him to stop talking. As his teacher prefers a quiet classroom (and all the other students were working quietly), I didn't think it was an unreasonable request. He acted as if my threat to move him to another seat was quite the overreaction on my part.

If that's as bad as it gets, then it was a pretty good day.

The Balloon Explanation

Yesterday I was back at the continuation high school.  I was surprised to get called.  It was a short day before a break.  These are the sorts of days that very few teachers miss.

I ran into the teacher I subbed for on Monday.  (I saw her on Thursday, but as it had been Turkey Day, we didn't get a chance to talk.)  She got my note, and she wanted to relate a story about the balloon incident.

It was some time ago.  Somehow, they obtained a blown up balloon.  It was near the end of the period, they were done with their work for the day, and they started volleyball-ing this balloon.  The entire class was entranced, and they kept the balloon floating in the air.  The room was silent as they were all fixated on this one task.

Ms. W. allowed it.  Once.

So, they were telling the truth, sort of.  They stretched that inch into a mile.  Silly teens.

A Balloon in Class

It was 4th period yesterday.  World history.  We read through the section of the chapter that was assigned.  Then they were supposed to define all the key terms.

"Could you write that up on the board so I don't forget?"

This wasn't the sort of assignment that one has trouble remembering, but it was an easy enough thing to do.  I should have realized that it was a set up.

As soon as my back was turned, I heard it.  Once I faced the class again, I saw it.  They were batting a gold-colored balloon around the room.

"But Ms. W. always lets us!"

Um, right, sure.

I retrieved the balloon.  I made sure that it was completely out of the way.  They had work to do, I reminded them.  They should get to it.

I would have never known where the balloon came from, except then the student pulled out another one (this time it was dark blue).  I heard him blowing it up.  I put a stop to that.

Why was he bringing balloons to school?  He told me that he found them in his pocket.  They were left over from a baby shower (I think he said his sister's).

At the end of the period, he retrieved the blown-up balloon, and the game resumed.  (It was the end of the period, so I let it slide.)  The student acted like he wanted to keep the balloon, yet it was still in the room after all the students had exited.  I made sure it wasn't around to tempt 5th period.

I had been warned about this group.  (By the way, these were all juniors and seniors, all over the age of 16.)  I wonder how entertained their teacher will be by the balloon story.