Not a Freshman, Not a Senior

I've had Marcellus in various classes over the years. He was in Mr. J's fourth period computer science class.

I had been in the class a couple days (so, this was back in March) when something about freshmen came up. There were a couple freshmen in this class, and for some reason I thought Marcellus was one of them. (Which makes no sense as I had had him in "various classes over the years".) Although, to be fair, he is short, so...

When I said something along those lines, Marcellus corrected me, informing me that he was a senior. I apologized for my mistake, and I verified his grade level in the attendance software. 

Marcellus was lying. He was a junior. 

I did not call him on this, however. It was unimportant. It wouldn't even make the blog, except...

Thursday. Legacy day.

The seniors had "checked out". Officially. Their grades were finalized, and they were beginning their senior activities. The first one was them going back to visit their elementary schools wearing their caps and gowns, letting the kiddos there know that one day they too would be in the seniors' shoes. 

For the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, class was as normal. As fourth period had eleven seniors, those students were absent (for school business) while the rest of the students were there.

As I started taking roll, I mentioned that there were a lot of absences. The students remarked that the seniors were gone. (I knew this. There were more students missing than would be accounted for by the missing seniors. It turned out that several students were just late to class.) 

This was when the other students "noticed" Marcellus. 

"Wait. Aren't you a senior? You're supposed to be gone..."

At which point Marcellus sputtered and flailed for some excuse. 

They were joking, of course. They had to know Marcellus wasn't a senior. But apparently it's been an ongoing bit that Marcellus claimed to be a senior, so him still being at school had to put an end to the game. 

At least next year Marcellus won't by lying. And hopefully I'll remember that even though he's short, he's not a freshman.

Working the Study Guide

Thursday. Second period math.

Mr. J wasn't giving a cumulative final. Their final test was to be the last chapter test of the school year. And to prepare for that test, Mr. J had left a study guide. 

(Ms. L, the co-teacher of the other math classes, showed me a copy of their test. The study guide was a problem for problem duplicate, the only difference being the numbers used in the problems.) 

I gave them the study guide. And I prefaced the period with, "You know how you get the test, you look at it, and you go blank? And then you tell me you don't know what to do? And I tell you I can't help you? Today, I can help you."

Many of the students took advantage of this help. 

They also were able to utilize their notes. They had a formula sheet that they could use on the test, and they were making notes on that. So, they were making good use of their time.

As was Ava. 

Ava was on it. She was working through those problems. Asking questions. All of it.

At the end of the period, Ava asked if she could come back during lunch for help with the last bit of the study guide. 

Part of me snarled. This girl... She could be little miss attitude so much of the time. But when she wanted something, she was as sweet as could be. 

I kept the snarl inside, though. Because I'm the adult. 

Ava did return at lunch. I did help her with the final three problems. And she did seem to understand what she was doing.

I really do hope she does well on the test. Her grade is still hovering between D and F. She could (barely) pass the class. That's on her. I won't deliberately tank her chances.

(When I'm grading things, I don't notice the names on the papers. Seriously. And if I do notice, I won't mark something off for students I don't get along with. If they give me the right answer, or even if they get in the ballpark, I will give them the score they earned.)

The Mad Scramble

It was Tuesday of the penultimate week of school, and I was back in Mr. J's class.

This was not a surprise. When I took the long term assignment, I was booked for the initial two months, and then these last four days of May. Before leaving the class, on the transition day, I asked Mr. J about it. He confirmed he was taking this week off. (Something about his wife going back to work. He didn't give much detail, and I didn't ask for specifics.)

In anticipation of this reprise, I didn't return the classroom key nor did I return the tablet I checked out for use in the class. I left it on campus, in a cabinet in Mr. J's classroom. (Technically I could have taken it home as it was checked out to me, but I felt more comfortable leaving school tech at school.) 

Before the weekend, Mr. J had emailed me the lesson plans. I went through and printed out the pages I'd need. I perused the lesson just so I was ready. 

On Tuesday, I made sure to leave a bit early so I could retrieve my borrowed tech and set up for the day. (While on the long-term, I tended to leave things ready for the next day as I tend not to be all that alert first thing in the morning.) 

Everything went according to plan. I got checked in, got into the classroom, set up my tablet, and got things ready to go. 

Only, there was a small problem.

The pages I had printed were not the pages containing the notes the students needed. 

Mr. J had sent me a copy of the students' notes. But the copy he gave them and the copy he gave me were not the same. 

(In my copy, pages 15 & 16 were notes on finding the area of regular shapes. In the students' copy, pages 15 & 16 were notes on finding the volume of prisms.) 

Oops. 

I knew there was going to be some hiccup. I'm fortunate that it wasn't a bigger deal.

As luck would have it, I had previewed their online assignment and found the pages that contained those notes. I printed those as well. And it turned out those were the notes I did need. 

Once I figured out where the glitch was, things went smoothly. I got through their notes, and they got a chance to work on their last new assignment for the school year. 

The next class period they would get the study guide for their final test. (The teacher isn't giving a final. The last chapter test is the last test for the class.) 

The school year is almost done. Well, actually, by the time you read this, it will be done. Today, June 5th, is the last day of school (although I'm always a week behind on the blog, so this week I'll continue to have subbing stories). 

Short Time

Wednesday. Sixth period. Computer science.

Before getting into the lesson of the day, I was dealing with "announcements". These weren't official or anything. They were basically a list of things the students needed to remember. The job fair I had been preparing them for was the next day. We were just about at the end of the unit, so a test would be forthcoming...

As it was my last solo day with the class (the next time I had them in class would be my "transition day" with Mr. J), I informed them that it was going to be up to him whether or not this test happened on Monday.

Reid: "Mr. J is coming back?"

"Yes."

Reid: "I thought he was gone the rest of the year." 

I... Uh...

I never made it a secret that Mr. J would be back, nor did I ever not mention when. 

But this is Reid we're talking about. (Click on the above link for my first mention of him on the blog.) He's been pretty tuned out for much of the two months I've been teaching the class.

I got into the lesson of the day, and Reid pulled out his phone and ignored the lesson. Which is what he's been doing, so no surprise. (I bet it won't surprise you to find out his grade is 35% and he's barely done any of the assignments.)

And so, this concludes my long term assignment. For now. Next week (read: this week) I'm back in the day-to-day trenches. (Although, I still have a transition day. But, unless something interesting happens that day, I doubt I'll mention it.) 

A SoCal Lunch

Wednesday. Lunch.

One of the students from sixth period had asked if she could "hang out" in the room for lunch. And I had another student arrive to make up a test he missed. (He had asked the previous day if he could come in at lunch and take it.)

I got the boy his test. The girl wanted to spend time on a computer. With them situated, I took a seat at the teacher's desk and started my prep period work. (I go through the emails to see if I have any late work to grade. Then I input any newly done assignments into the gradebook. I had some makeup tests to grade. And then there was some lesson planning for the next day I had to do.) 

Then I heard a sound like something had crashed into the building, but not a big something. I knew that sound...

I paused. Was that shaking? Or was I imagining it? 

"Are we having an earthquake?"

The boy: "That's just the wind."

The wind was blowing. Kinda hard. But no, I felt swaying.

These things never last long, so I waited about a minute, and then I pulled up my earthquake app. 

Sure enough, under "Near Me" it had an indicator that said "Los Angeles Area" and 4.3. Yup, I was right. It had been an earthquake. (Here's a local news story about it.)

I checked back later, and it had been downgraded to a 4.0. The epicenter wasn't close, but close enough (about 35 miles away). 

And...?

Well, I went back to my grading. The boy finished his test a few minutes later, turned it in, and left. When the bell rang to end lunch, the girl returned the computer and went on her way.

And I graded the boy's test. (He did pretty well. I wish I could tell you his score, but I have forgotten it.)

Restroom Break

Tuesday. Fifth period.

It was the independent work portion of the period. I had gone over some problems (we've started the probability unit, so they were doing practice problems on things like, "How many possible ice cream cones can you make with 3 cone types, 5 ice cream flavors, and 3 toppings?"), and it was their turn to try them on their own. 

The students weren't having too much trouble with the concepts, so Ms. L and I were at the front of the room, waiting for questions. A student approached. 

"Jeff got in a fight. Now he's in the discipline office."

Both Ms. L and I looked over at Jeff's desk. His computer was open. His notes were sitting there. His backpack was leaning against the bottom of the chair. 

Ms. L: "He just left to go to the restroom..."

He hadn't been gone all that long. Definitely not long enough for either of us to be concerned. But now we knew he wasn't going to return.

Deep sigh.

(How did the student know? I assume that Jeff texted him, and he conveyed the information to us.) 

We continued on. At the end of the period, all the students cleared out. Jeff's stuff remained at his desk. 

After fifth period was lunch. Security arrived a few minutes into lunch to retrieve Jeff's stuff. (The computer belonged to the classroom, so I logged Jeff out and returned it to charge.) 

Some students give off a certain vibe. You know they're trouble. Jeff? Not so much. He's a good kid who's doing fairly well in class. So, I was shocked. But really, at that age, I shouldn't be that shocked.

Reading the Script

When I started this long term assignment, the computer science classes were doing a "careers" unit. But there were only so many days I could go over how to interview and they only needed so much time to construct a resume. 

Besides, I was getting bored. And if I was bored, I was sure they were bored, too.

Once I felt like I'd covered everything (well, not everything, but enough so they knew the basics), it was time to get back into the computer science of the thing. But, I don't know computer science. 

The classes are built on lessons from code.org. Their assignments have been on that website. 

It turned out, the lesson plans for each lesson contained a slideshow to show to the class, and a lesson plan with a script. 

Of course, the assumption is that the teacher actually knows what she's talking about, so the script is more talking points to help direct where the lesson should go. 

That's not how I've been using it, though.

The next unit on the agenda was about algorithms. So, gamely, I got the slides ready, and I prepared to "teach" the lesson. I read ahead and saw that they needed sticky notes, so I got them sticky notes. We got into the lesson...

I have two periods of computer science. One period gamely went through the lesson.

The other period? Half of them were completely tuned out, playing games on their computers or phones. 

Sigh.

But that was half the class. The other half was attempting the lesson.

Did they learn anything? I hope so. At least it was more interesting than another lesson on how to answer "Tell me about yourself". 

Class Swapper

Last week was state testing. In the spring, the schools are all mandated to do these official tests that the state then uses to classify schools and check progress and that sort of thing. 

As a sub (even a long-term one), I was not required to proctor the testing. But I was required to be on campus. "My" classroom was being used to administer the test. So, I borrowed the desk of the class' co-teacher as she has a desk in the special ed learning center. 

The testing block was the first two hours of the day. You might think having to be on campus was a bad thing, but I had actual work to complete. The computer science classes had turned in their resumes, so I had to grade them. Then once I got those done, it was again time for progress reports, so I had school time to input grades.

Oh, and I also got the math classes' test and study guide for that test finalized. That took longer than expected as I forgot to include one of the problem types on the study guide. And there was one problem on the test that would not format no matter what I did.

(Every time I tried to move this triangle to the spot it should appear on the test, it vanished from the test. I won't go into how many times I tried things to get this to work. In the end, I had to just leave it where it was and modify the other questions to work around it.)

Just when I was back in the classroom...

The math teacher next door was also a coder at one time, so he's familiar with computer science. Mr. J had asked him to explain something to the computer science classes. But Dr. K had his own classes. Of course.

Well, there was a simple solution. We traded classes. Dr. K explained what the kiddos needed to know. And I watched Dr. K's kiddos take a test. I got the easy part.

Make Ups

Remember Jordan?

Jordan is in Mr. J's second period sophomore math class. She pretty much took the month of February off. And much of March. And April. She merited a blog mention when she was surprised her grade had dropped because of a missing test (that I didn't just cancel for her). 

Since I last mentioned her, we had another test in the math class. That put her two tests behind. 

Just after we took the second test (with me), Jordan managed to come to class and... gasp... make up that first test. And she did pretty well on it. (She didn't get an A, but she didn't fail it, either.) 

Tuesday. Jordan showed up to class. And she asked if she could make up that second test.

Well, of course she could.

While I was teaching the last lesson in our current unit, Jordan finally got caught up on her missing test. 

At the end of the period, Jordan turned in her test. And then she asked me, "Will this be in the gradebook right away?"

Ahem. 

Before she left, I restated something just for her that I had told the whole class. Thursday we'd do a study guide for a test that would happen on the following Monday. (By the time you see this post, that test will have happened.) 

Will she show up on Monday and stay up-to-date? I'm doubtful. But we'll see. 

(If you ask me in the comments, I'll be able to tell you whether she was there or not.) 

Worrisome Information

I got my door lock fixed! Finally.

(ICYMI: The lock on the inside of my car, driver's side door, broke one day. It's been months, but I finally found someone to fix it. As it turns out, the school where I'm doing my long-term gig has an auto shop. They took a look at the lock, recommended the part they'd need to fix it, and I ordered it. When I picked it up, I fell. So, this has been an ongoing ordeal for me. But it's finally over.)

Wednesday. I dropped off my car at the side gate of the school (rather than parking my car in the parking lot), and I went about my day as normal. At the end of the day, Mr. A, the auto shop teacher, informed me that things weren't quite all good. It took him a bit to get my car door put back together.

My car is thirty-one years old. Students were working on the fix. While the lock mechanism was fine, my door lock is showing its age. And now I can again lock my door from the inside.

But that was not what was worrisome...

Thursday. Fifth period.

The students were entering the room. Adriel passed by me. 

"I put the lock in your car." 

I really, really hope my face went blank, because my mind was whirling. 

I mean, it's okay, right? I had driven my car home. I worked the lock. The lock worked. It was okay...

Just because Adriel doesn't do math doesn't mean he's a terrible auto shop student, right? Right?!?

(I checked. He has an A in auto shop.) 

I mean, I agreed to have the students work on my car. I trust that Mr. A didn't leave them in incapable hands. He supervised. 

It's okay. It's fine. 

(I've been driving my car for days since then. The lock works. It's fine. It's fine!)

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

Valuable Lesson?

Wednesday. Second period.

I was already frazzled. We had a late start due to state testing, and then they threw a fire drill on top of that. 

But we were back in the room, and I had the notes projected as I explained how to do the problems.

We're doing trigonometry, basically the intro stuff. They are just learning about sine, cosine, and tangent. So, I was taking it slow. 

I had a problem up. We were using tangent. I had them put the calculations into their calculators. And the number they got was not the number on my key.

(I know what I'm doing, but I also have a key with the problems worked out in front of me. I mostly glance at it for the answers.) 

So, I went and got a calculator and punched in the numbers myself. I got the same answer. 

I wrote it down and moved on.

As I worked the next problem, I looked back at the previous problem, and I realized what the issue was.

I did it wrong.

I erased the problem, continued working the example I was on, and got the answer in the key. Then I went back to the previous problem.

"What did I do wrong here?" I asked them.

Elliot replied that I used cosine instead of tangent (it was supposed to be tangent). Elliot is one of the students who's doing well. (Although, he was in the group of four boys who all got the same wrong answers on the test. I assume the others copied him.) 

I agreed, and I then did the problem correctly (getting the same answer as the key). Then I moved on.

I mean, I felt stupid. I've been going over how to figure out which function to use for which sides are given in the problem, and I go and get it wrong. 

But then again, mistakes happen. And I caught it before we got too far. 

I try to let them know that it's okay to make mistakes. I do it too. 

But it still rankled. 

I'll get over it. Eventually.

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

Uncomfortable Lesson

Friday. Second period. I was doing the trig lesson which was kind of a review. The previous period was cut short due to state testing and a fire drill, so they had never gotten a chance to practice the problems I talked about on Wednesday. So, I was going over the material again so they'd know what to do when they were working on the problems.

Because I was going over notes they already had, I was having the students give me answers. I'd ask what trig function I'd need to use for a specific problem. Then I'd have another student plug the numbers into their calculator to give me an answer.

It was going smoothly. 

Ava was over in her seat, laughing. Clearly on her phone. So, of course I called on her.

"I don't know." 

I pointed out to her the information she would need to answer my question. It was on the TV screen behind me. I moved the notes so the pertinent information was visible. I made it bigger, too.

"I can't see it."

I told her she could move.

She refused.

She basically refused to even attempt to answer the question. 

After a bit more back and forth, I got the answer I was looking for. (If I recall correctly, I was seeking "cosine". That's all.) And then I moved on.

Ava's been requesting me to check late work that she's done (because she refuses to work in class). And she's got an attitude with me. I mean, do students not realize that they catch more flies with honey? 

Sophomores... They haven't quite matured yet. Close, but not quite there.

Although, I won't be surprised if Ava ends up at the continuation high school. She's got that way about her.

I hate confrontations like this.

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

Quarterback Dreams

Sixth period computer science. It's considered a career and technical education course (CTE). 

During the first week of this long-term assignment, Mr. J informed me of a job fair the school was hosting specifically for the CTE students. So, instead of attempting to teach them computer science (which I know next to nothing about), I got to spend some time teaching them job hunting skills--writing a resume and interview skills. 

I got them set up with an online course with video slideshows and questions about interviewing. (It's a program that the school's CTE department uses.) 

Several students informed me that they had already completed this course in another class. So, I took down their names so that they wouldn't lose points for not redoing things they had already done.

It took me a couple weeks to connect with another teacher who could verify that those kiddos had, in fact, completed the course. While I believed most of them had...

Melvin sits in the front of the room. He's frequently late, and he often leaves class early. (He has track practice, which is likely true.) 

The first assignment they completed with me (they started it before I got there) was a career exploration slideshow. They were to answer the usual questions: what the job entails, growth potential, salary, education required, and such. 

Melvin's job? Professional football.

(I am rolling my eyes here.) 

Does Melvin have the potential of becoming a successful professional football player? Of course. But...

When I took down the names of students who said they completed the interview skills online course, Melvin said he had. 

When I talked to the teacher who could verify who had done this, he could not find Melvin's records. 

The next class period, I let most of the students know that I had verified that they had completed the course. (They had, in fact, completed the course with the teacher who I checked with.) Then I told Melvin we couldn't find his records, so if he could just go and see that teacher...

I told him to go and see that teacher right then. Melvin declined. (Reid, who sits next to Melvin, snickered at him. He mumbled something about getting caught in a lie.) 

I get the feeling Melvin has decided he's going to be a famous football player, and right now he's biding his time until he can get there. I also think it's not going to go the way Melvin thinks it's going to go. 

I could be wrong. I don't think I'm wrong.

(The schools in the district have produced some famous athletes. I know of one that you've likely heard of--he actually has been in the World Series. But they didn't rest on their laurels in high school. That's why I'm so dubious about Melvin.)

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Performance Review, Part 2

I have a terrible memory for students sometimes. But that's a good thing as if I don't remember being irked by them, then the next time I see them they have a brand new chance with me.

I've been covering Mr. J's classes for just over a month now. It was just this last week, on Thursday, that I realized that I had met Nadine in period five before.

And, the only reason it came up was because of a different student in a completely different period.

Ava's not been showing up to class, when she does she's late, and she hasn't been doing the work. Unsurprisingly, she's got an F in math. I went to look at her grades in her other classes, and I was not shocked to find that math is not the only class she's failing. 

That's when I noticed that Ava has Mr. M for history period six. 

And I vividly recall getting a dressing down the day that I covered Mr. M's sixth period class. 

Some more backtracking, and I found Nadine's name. And yup, Nadine's in Mr. J's fifth period. 

Until that moment, I hadn't connected Nadine to the incident. I mean, I remember the incident. I just didn't recall the student who had told me I was a terrible sub who didn't do her job and that she'd get her mother to complain if I wished to take things further.

Will I remember Nadine after this? Likely. 

But Nadine's been keeping a low profile in math class. (It helps that fifth period is co-taught. Having another teacher who's been around since the beginning of the year keeps most of the students honest.) 

Curious, I checked Nadine's grades. Yup, she has an F in math and in history, too.

Figures.

A part of me is curious as to whether Nadine thinks I'm doing my job now. But I'm not going to ask. I don't really want to know.

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

Oblivious Student and the Test

Second period integrated math 2. (Sophomore math. It used to be geometry before they changed the sequencing.) This is the one period that isn't co-taught, so it's just me and the 22 students. (It's a small group.)

Malakhi sits right up front. He's frequently late if he shows up at all. He asks to use the restroom and then is gone for twenty minutes. (The restroom is just around the corner, about two rooms away.) While I'm teaching, he is usually on his phone. Or asleep. And when they have time to practice the problems, he is again on his phone or asleep.

On Thursday the class had a test. On Tuesday I went over a study guide with basically all the same problems that were going to be on the test. 

On Tuesday, I emphasized the point: "Now's the time for any questions. If there's anything you don't understand..."

Malakhi spoke up. So, I re-explained the question I had just done. I solicited more questions. No one asked.

Thursday. They had had the test for maybe ten minutes when Malakhi asked to use the restroom. He was gone his usual twenty minutes. 

He returned. And then he slept. 

The students finished the test and turned it in. We were in the last five minutes. Malakhi still had his test. It was time to collect it, as he was the only one still with a test. 

Malakhi: "I don't know how to do this." 

His test was blank.

Deep sigh.

If I had not been available for questions, that would be one thing. (I discovered the secret of getting questions from the students--find the ones who are struggling and offer my help. It's kept me busy.) And the rest of the class has gotten better about actually asking for help. (Me: "Don't sit there stuck. Ask. This is literally my job.")

But Malakhi? Even when I hover, he doesn't ask. That's mostly because he isn't attempting the problems.

It's no wonder he doesn't know what to do.

But I can't do it for him.

(He expressed the same sentiment after the last test. I had not been in class to teach those lessons, though.)

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

Keymaker

Wednesday. Seventh period. It was my prep period, and I was doing what I've been doing during all of the prep periods during this long-term assignment--preparing for class. 

That means I did a little bit of grading, a little bit of lesson planning, that sort of thing. I keep hoping to get done with my stuff before the end of the period, because if I do, I can sneak out early and go home. 

I got through everything I absolutely needed for the next day. I was even current on the grading. I looked at the clock. I had less than ten minutes before the final bell. 

Deep sigh.

Right at the bell for the end of the day, the traffic getting off campus is crazy. If I get out right before the bell, it's okay. If I can't, it's better to wait about ten minutes for the traffic to clear away. 

At the moment I could have left, that would have put me at my car just at the bell. I'd be in the worst of it.

I scanned my pile of stuff to do to find something to do for five minutes. 

The co-teacher and I had determined that the math classes would have their next test the week after spring break. The day we returned, we'd give them a study guide and some time to review what they'd need for the test. 

The co-teacher had modified the test that Mr. J. had left. (We were doing the section in two parts, so there were topics on the test we hadn't covered yet.) I then volunteered to modify the test study guide to reflect the changes. I had even made the copies so they'd be ready for us after the break.

But I hadn't written out a key for the study guide.

I had five minutes...

And really, it only took me about five minutes to get it done. At about the time the bell rang. 

I got to my car a bit after that final bell. Where I encountered the expected traffic. Ah well. If I had left earlier, the traffic would have been worse. 

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

Jangled Up

Of the six periods I'm covering for this long-term assignment, the AP computer science class was the one I was worried about the least. This was the wrong assessment. 

Third period AP computer science consists of ten students who are taking a more rigorous course to prepare them for the AP test in May. Mr. J put all their materials for their code.org work in their Google Classroom so they could work their way through the the curriculum. 

In theory, this should work. But high school students. 

Mr. J had planned out when they should be ready for their test. I printed out the thing they'd have to do. (It's similar to the kind of questions they'll have to answer on the AP test.) And...

It did not go well. They're lost. A couple of them kind of get it, but the rest aren't utilizing their expertise. 

So, now we've got some adjustments to make. I can push them onward to the next section. Or, we can try to figure out what they should know before we move on. The main issue here is that the AP test is about a month away, and if they're tested on something they don't learn, they definitely will miss those questions. 

If only I knew more about computer science. If only I knew more coding than just basic basic HTML. 

When I started with them, I noted the dates Mr. J had indicated for the end of this section. I reviewed it with them, asking if those dates would work for the test. They didn't say much of anything. I took that as agreement. (The class is pretty quiet most of the time.) 

It wasn't until I dug down and figured out how to see what they had accomplished that I realized they weren't doing the work they were supposed to have done.

Well, now I know. Perhaps now I can give them enough guidance so that they will put in the effort to figure things out, or at least they'll articulate the questions so I can find a way to get them answers.

We'll see. Wish me (and them) luck.

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

Impassioned Plea

Computer science. Sixth period. 

It was the Thursday before spring break. (We had Friday off.) They had been working on this job interview unit, but they weren't making much progress, so the plan was to continue to give them time to complete their resume and some online "how to interview for a job" modules. 

The phone rang. 

"Is Viola in class?" 

Knowing vaguely who that was, I turned to the students. "Viola?"

Viola waved her hands frantically in "I am not here". 

The teacher on the phone, Ms. D, asked if Viola was busy in class, because if she wasn't, could I send her to her English class to make up a test on The Great Gatsby? 

Viola was motioning violently, albeit quietly, begging me to say that she was, in fact, busy. 

Technically, she was. She was missing several assignments that she needed to complete. But would she? She and the boy next to her were deep in conversation, but not the kind of conversation that leads to doing classwork.

So, I had a choice. And I was leaning towards making Viola do that test. Waiting to take it until after spring break wouldn't help her, and it wasn't like she'd be using my class time productively. 

I held the phone to my shoulder and discussed it with Viola. As soon as I called her name, she knew who was on the phone and what she wanted. I pointed out that it would be better to get this test out of the way now rather than later, like after spring break.

Once Viola realized I wasn't going to tell Ms. D that she couldn't come, Viola begged for ten minutes. I agreed that was reasonable, so I relayed that information to Ms. D, and I hung up the phone.

"Did you read the book?" I asked.

She said she had seen the movie several times. (Insert my eye roll here.) 

She took the ten minutes to study up, and then off she went. 

About an hour later she returned. Happy. "I'm pretty sure I aced it." 

She agreed it was better to get it out of the way. "I'd probably fail it if I took it after the break." 

Yup, I knew this. I'm glad she realized I was right.

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

Bored Games

I've decided that Adriel is bored. 

(Adriel is the student who has apparently cheated on tests in the past. But I've seen when he does the work. I think he actually understands the material.)

He's bored and immature. So, he entertains himself like a middle schooler would. But, he's old enough to realize that he needs to be sneaky so as not to get caught.

Ms. L, the co-teacher, explained that Adriel had a partner in crime, and the two of them together were unmanageable (even when they were seated across the room from each other). Mr. J made it his mission to get the boys in different periods. He succeeded. 

So, now Adriel sits isolated at the edge of the room, and he spends most of the period watching his phone.

He spends the rest of the period throwing markers and pencils. Surreptitiously. So as not to get caught.

Now that I have the rhythms of the class, I told Ms. L that I could teach the lessons. So, she can help the students as I go over the material. (This is how the class is supposed to function. She is the special ed teacher. Her students need a bit more assistance.) 

I was explaining something about 30-60-90 triangles...

Ms. L: "Adriel, stop throwing pencils." 

Apparently he denied doing it.

Ms. L: "I saw you throw it."

He must have gone back to watching his phone.

(It's not that we've given up on him. We try to get him engaged in the class. But at a certain point, we're expending way more energy on a student who won't try when we could spend the time with students who actually want the help.)

At least with Ms. L watching them, Adriel is more likely to get caught. And that's a win. 

Doing the Work

Mr. J has three periods of sophomore math and three periods of computer science. I'm qualified to teach the math classes. The computer science classes, however...

When I started the classes, Mr. J sent me an email with a suggestion. 

Computer science is a CTE class, short for career and technical education. The CTE department is going to have a job fair in May where local employers will come to campus to interview students. The idea is to give the CTE students an opportunity to practice being interviewed for a job.

Mr. J suggested that I could do a unit on interviewing and resumes so the students could prepare. That I can teach. (Although I am terrible at it, I know the basics of what I should do.) 

I started the unit with what to wear. Then we delved into resumes. They are going to have to turn in a completed resume as they will need one for the job fair. 

Friday. I went over the basics. Gave them some tools to use. Suggested that the internet had all sorts of advice. Explained that resume templates existed. (I did give them a template to use if they so chose.) 

Then I gave them time to work.

I heard some playing video games. Some of them clearly weren't on task. (That's kind of how things have been going. But, some had completed a resume in other classes, and I wasn't requiring them to write a new one, just to turn in the one they already have done.) 

But then, I heard a group of boys in the back of the room. Discussing how to describe their skills...

They were doing the assignment? 

They were doing the assignment.

The computer science classes were kind of off task as they weren't getting direct instruction in anything, but now that I'm following up, things are getting done.

Deep breath.

This is what it's supposed to be like. It's good when things work out.