Ceiling Darts

Take one staple. Unbend the corners so it's as straight as you can make it. Fold a sticky note into a triangle thingie. (Here's a helpful tutorial.) Place the staple at the sticky tip of the triangle...

It's an ingenious device. Alas, its only purpose is goofing off in class...

Eighth grade English. They were doing a one-pager book project. Basically, it's a poster about the book they read.

But eighth graders...

Fourth period. They came in, climbed up on the desks, and retrieved the ceiling darts (a quick internet search yielded that term) that were stuck in the ceiling.

I only noticed these at the end of third period when one boy pointed them out to another. (Period three worked quietly all period, so they had been in the ceiling since before.)

I was glad to have the darts removed, but I kind of knew what would come next.

The boy tossed the dart at the ceiling...  and it bounced off.

To get them to stick takes a bit of skill. Throw them too hard and they bounce off. Too soft, and there's not enough force for them to attach. There should be a bit of spin on it, but if it hits the ceiling at the wrong angle, it won't stick.

It's the sort of activity that only goes unnoticed when the class is already difficult. Because the sound of the darts hitting the ceiling is kind of distinctive. (Although, if they go in, it might not be too loud.)

I know to shut this sort of thing down quick.

After the first one didn't stick, I retrieved the dark and tossed it in the trash.

As luck would have it (although, probably not luck), that boy had an appointment to do his work elsewhere that day. The teacher had several students going out, probably because they'd given previous subs issues. With him gone, I'd hoped the game was over.

Unfortunately, I had to throw out three more darts (and one of those twice) before the game was truly over.

Then they got to work? Nope. They still avoided the assignment, but at least they did it without throwing things at the ceiling.

Not my First Rodeo

The other day as I was clearing out some old papers, I found some blog posts that I'd never posted. I wrote them down with the intent of putting them on the blog, but then... I suppose something more interesting happened that week. That's my only guess. 

I remember being very annoyed with this boy. But somehow the act of writing this out dispelled much of my anger. I can't tell you when this happened, but it was at least two years ago. 

"Remember me? I was in the first class you ever subbed."

Me: "Really? You were in the 11th grade history class at [different high school] in [different city which is two hours away]?"

"No, I was in the first class you subbed here."

I made some joke about how he'd been in high school an awfully long time.

I've been subbing a while. At least since before he was in school. The first class I ever subbed at his school... There are teachers teaching at his school that were students in classes I covered.

(Truth is, I don't remember my first class at his school. I'll have to check my records. But those students? They're in their 30s now.

I do remember a student from my first year subbing. He was a basketball star. Everyone said he'd go to the NBA. He did. Not a superstar, though. Although, a student from a couple years later made it to the World Series. You would know his name.)

How he figured that the first time he encountered me was the first time I'd ever subbed... I have no idea how kiddos get these notions.

Not so Sick

We are currently on winter break, but I had a few left over posts from the last couple weeks before the break. 

"I need to blow my nose."

Ten Minutes then picked up the box of tissues.

I know, it's that time of the year. I'm dealing with sinus issues and a cough myself. But no, he doesn't get the classroom's full box.

We compromised. Ten Minutes took five tissues.

Later in the period, I noticed movement near Ten Minutes. He and the girl two seats over were throwing tissues at each other.

Naturally.

(He looked miserable. I thought he was actually sick and needed multiple tissues. My mistake.)

The Crayon Box: The New Watercooler

Seventh grade science. It's nearing the end of the year, so they were working on a major project--The Body Book. (It's a review of all the human body systems--like respiratory and skeletal--in an illustrated booklet.)

On this day they were to complete pages for the integumentary system and the endocrine system.

However, I had fair warning--this class was horrible.

As the assignment required colored illustrations, the teacher had provided a tub of crayons. Used, abused, broken crayons. (The kiddos don't treat provided materials with respect.) The students could borrow colors as needed.

A girl and two boys hovered over the crayon tub. When I queried them, they claimed they were searching for specific colors. But they weren't digging through the tub as vigorously as I'd expect. Or at all. No, it was clear they were having a conversation. (I definitely got a flirting vibe.)

I told them to find their colors and take a seat.

I would have hovered over them, but the class needed more attention. I had roamers to chase down. One girl decided she's rather sit on the floor. Another boy was arguing with a fellow student, and the pair needed my intervention.

I returned to the crayons to find the three still there.

Okay, fine. Time to put a timer on it.

I found the teacher's timer, set it for two minutes, and told them that was their time limit. They left before the timer went off--without crayons.

On the bright side, this assignment is worth major points, so the goofing off will impact their grades.

Too Fast

Friday. Middle school. Fundamentals of engineering.

Their assignment was to sketch out an alphabet that looked roughly like this:

I projected the alphabet on a screen at the front of the room. But I could only get two to three rows on screen at the same time, so periodically I'd have to scroll.

About half the class was diligently working. The other half of the class was playing. (This is typical in middle school electives. This is typical in middle school required subjects, too.)

At about the middle of the room, there were two girls who were all about the games. They started off by finishing off their lunch. (The diligent workers confirmed that they weren't allowed to eat in class.) Then they were gossiping, checking out their phones, chatting with the others in class, and pretty much doing things that were not on task.

But they remained in their seats, so while I kept an eye on them, I didn't do much more than periodically remind them that they had an assignment.

As the workers finished up the first row of letters (after like 20 minutes), I moved the screen up...

"Hey, wait. I wasn't done yet."

One of the girls wanted me to move the letters back. She had only finished the "A". She told me I was moving too fast.

Hmmm... So, scroll back so the goofing off girl can get caught up. Or keep things moving forward for all the students that were making progress. Difficult decision...

When I wouldn't move the letters back, the girl asked if she could go to the library to print out a copy of what she needed.

(The letters were on the teacher's website. Those who had phones could access the example that way. The teacher didn't trust them with Chromebooks when she wasn't in the room. After seeing the classes, I completely understand why.)

She returned without the hard copy. The library was "too crowded" and she couldn't get access. Her friend then decided to try... And also returned without a hard copy.

Now, they could have worked ahead. So what if they missed A-D? They could still continue with the other letters on the screen instead of wasting their time...

Oh, what am I saying? It was all about wasting their time.

I went ahead and signed up for the A to Z Challenge starting April 1st. (I'm #514 on the sign up list as I write this.) Not that anything is really going to change. You'll just notice how each day goes one further in the alphabet.

And... Happy birthday, Chris. (Feel free to wish my little brother a happy birthday :)

TGIF?

Friday. Sixth period. On a day that had been drizzly and dreary. For a middle school special ed math class.

They were... interesting...

Samuel decided he wasn't going to do a thing I said. I asked him to complete the practice problem. He refused. I asked him to get out a pencil, he wouldn't move.

He took offense when I stared at him. I told him I'd stop if he started working. Ultimately, I got distracted by another student.

Because it wasn't just Samuel. Ashley didn't like sitting in the back. And Edward was looking at her. So, Ashley was moved. And Edward was talked to for twisting around in his seat. But Ashley was angry at Edward for calling her name, only it wasn't Edward. Nope. It was Samuel.

Did I mention these kiddos had a quiz?

Luckily, the instructional aide was there. She did all the work. I can't imagine how bad things would have been without her being there.

Some hours seem longer.

Missing Supplies and Stuck

Middle school "home arts". Apparently, that's what we used to call "home economics".

The end of the semester is fast approaching. The kiddos were given a huge study guide to prepare. Unless they still had to finish their sewing project.

Alas, no sewing machines. They were sewing by hand. But these were small projects. They were making stuffed plush toys.

They had had a choice. I saw a cute star with a sleeping cap, fuzzy dice, a crescent-shaped moon with star, and a football (among other cute projects).

One boy found his football, but for some reason he couldn't find his needle, thread, or other accessories. Although, the football looked pretty complete to me. He said it wasn't. (It's possible that he still needed to sew up the spot where he had stuffed the thing, but I didn't see that gap.)

He got out some scissors and started "trimming" the fur. Which, considering that the teacher hadn't graded the thing yet, probably wasn't making the best use of his time. I said as much.

He whined that he couldn't find his stuff. I suggested that maybe he should work on his study guide and ask his teacher where his missing stuff was when she returned. But he's a middle school boy. He wasn't going to listen to reason.

Nope. He spent the period playing with footballs. (His plush one and the real one he had come into class with.)

And yet, the rest of the class managed to retrieve all their stuff and work. Or they were working on the study guide.

Well, there's always that one...

Lesson Plan Suggestion

Graphic arts at the continuation high school. The students have various projects to work on on computers. So, when there were no lesson plans, I figured no big deal. They had a project to continue, I was sure.

When first period walked in, I asked them what they were working on. And they told me that Mr. A gave them new things to work on daily...

(They have all the equipment to do things like engrave plaques and embroider insignias on shirts. Frequently they're doing projects for various district employees and official district-type stuff.)

One of the joys of modern communication--I emailed Mr. A and asked him what he wanted his kiddos to do. Some time later, he showed up, and he gave the class an assignment. (He had meant to write the plans on the board before he left the prior day, but he had forgotten. The prior day had been back to school night, so he was understandably busy.)

So, for that period and all subsequent periods, I knew what they were to work on. And it was a brand new assignment, so no one was "done".

The next class came in. "Oh, that's not for us." The following class? They didn't pretend the assignment wasn't theirs. They just made no pretense at all of doing it.

Um, yeah. If I had known they were just going to ignore the assignment, I wouldn't have worried. Or contacted their teacher to get an assignment. Sigh.

(Not Quite) Wide Awake

It's time for #ThrowbackThursday, where I recycle and old post. It's summer, so I've been doing a lot of reading. Just the other night I was again up way too late. At least this time I didn't have to get up in the morning. This was originally posted on May 6, 2014. And, for the record, I was not sleeping in class. I wasn't even dozing... 

The girl waved her hands in the air and then clapped loudly. Huh? I went over to investigate.

"I woke you up," the girl explained.

Woke me? I wasn't asleep.

"Yes you were. Your eyes were closed."

Um, no, they weren't.

I may have been yawning widely, but I wasn't asleep. I really should know better than to start reading a new book before bed on a school night. I can read for hours, even when I need to be up in the morning. And I drag through the next day. But I have never, ever fallen asleep in class.

I've heard horror stories about subs who sleep in class. If I feel like I might nod off, I'll get up and walk around. I anticipate a prep period where I can close my eyes. I whimper and moan to myself. But sleep? Absolutely not.

Soon, the discussion turned into my denying it and her insisting that I had been asleep.

When 8th graders think they're right...

So, I walked away. What was I going to do, write her up for accusing me of sleeping?

Not All Stars

I'd had trouble with them all period. I made reasonable requests ("Get to work"; "Turn off YouTube"; "Stop mocking your classmate") that they ignored.

6th periods can be interesting. These 11th graders were downright rude.

So, I wasn't terribly shocked when at the end of the period, as they were getting packed up, they all burst into song...

It was an odd selection, but the majority of the class joined in. They stumbled over the lyrics. Does anyone know if this song has been in some movie or TV show?  Because, why this one came up...

Some days I use my note to the teacher to vent. (And bonus, I received a packet of apology notes about a week later. So, my venting was heard.)

Early Dismissal?

I have a couple classroom pet peeves. One of my big ones is students trying to slip out of class a minute or so early.

Occasionally students may legitimately need to leave early. Special ed students whose bus leaves early. A student on crutches. A student who goes to take medicine. Students on athletic teams who have games. In all of those cases, the students ask permission and all is well.

7th period at the continuation high school. Environmental science. They had a packet of work that most ignored. Five minutes before the end of class (and the day), they all lined up at the door. And I saw a girl slip out...

I called her back. A couple times. Eventually, she heard me and turned around.

"It's almost time to go."

True, but it wasn't time yet. She needed to come back to the classroom.

She was halfway across campus. (It's a small campus.) She argued that she was almost out the gate. I told her that school wasn't out yet, and she needed to return for no matter how long it was.

She took two steps toward me when the bell rang...

In anticipation of the end of the day I had shut down the computer. This was how I logged into the attendance system. There is a screen that has all the students' pictures...

I didn't know her name. This is rather common with subs, especially in classes with no seating chart. The rest of the class "helpfully" didn't call out to her as I called out to her, so I couldn't glean her name that way. I'm pretty sure that's what she was counting on.

What she didn't get, though, was how much that stunt pissed me off. And it turns out I can access the attendance program via my phone. Finding her name was very easy after that.

It then took me a few minutes to write down her name, pack up my stuff, and check out from the office. On my way to my car, who do I see hanging out in the parking lot? Because she had to leave class early to hang out just outside the school?

The Water Bottle Toss

The first time I saw this (or, perhaps the first time I was aware of it) was during summer school. Apparently, it's the big new thing. It was ridiculously easy for me to find videos of this on YouTube.

Of course, all the videos I found were of successful attempts. Unfortunately, that's not what I've been seeing.

If you didn't watch the video, allow me to explain. They take a partially filled water bottle. (Usually of the half liter size.) Holding it at the top, they toss it so that it flips end over end once. The goal is to get it to land upright.

But, the students who do this in class end up failing more than succeeding.

There's nothing wrong with this, per se. No one gets hurt. It is sort of a skill. And there are much worse things that they could be doing.

However, it gets on my last nerve. When they fail, it makes a kind of loud wet splat. And they do this over, and over, and over again. (They do this when they're finished with their work. Yes, I check.)

Deep sigh.

Is it unreasonable for me to ban this from the classes I cover? I just hope it's a passing fad. Of course, the next passing fad could be so much worse.

A Name Swap

Once again, it is Thursday, and I've taken a trip into the way-back files. This post originally appeared on January 15, 2011. 

The bell hadn't even rung yet when I noticed the three boys in the back far corner of the room. Instead of entering the room, going to their seats, and getting ready for the period, they were playing around. As I couldn't get to them quickly (due to the teacher's bench, the distance to them, and the new student who was checking in), I had to yell at them to stop that right now.

I was ready for a bit of a battle with this group. The class was called survey of biology, and it was for the students who couldn't handle the standard biology curriculum. The rest of the Friday (regular biology classes) had gone relatively smoothly; the classes were a bit loud but on task.

I was not expecting the three boys in fifth period.

I finished taking roll and getting the new student squared away, and then I gave the class the assignment. Then I could walk around the room. I headed for the three boys. They were playing, and I needed to get them working.

The largest of the three introduced himself as "Tom". Then he introduced the boy sitting next to him as "James". "Tom" explained that "James" never does any work in class, so I should expect nothing from him.

However, I knew he was not Tom. It was luck, though, for I had marked Tom absent, and now I knew that Tom was present. Tom was the boy introduced as "James".

The third boy, so far unintroduced, was James. I knew this. For some reason, I remember James. I'm not sure why. I had him in class on Tuesday (where he was quiet and unremarkable). I remember noting that I hadn't seen him in a while, so when I saw him again Friday, I knew who he was.

I turned to the actual James and said, "Hello, James". James claimed that his name was Benz.

Not-Tom was Benz. He's another boy who I've known a while, and I couldn't remember his name until James claimed to be him. (I remembered it was distinctive, but that was all.) So, I said hello to the actual Benz, and he claimed to be... Oh, now I can't remember.

They attempted to confuse me, or maybe they were confused themselves. Benz flipped the introductions around, only making sure that he was using the wrong names for each of them. If I hadn't been sure of who they actually were (from having them in other classes) I might have been fooled. But Benz couldn't confuse me on this. (Besides, I've dealt with this sort of thing before.)

Once I made it clear I knew who was who, I walked away. I returned a couple times to check up on them. I thought about writing them up, but I couldn't figure out how to word the referral. And once the initial idiocy was over, they kept to themselves and didn't rile up the class (the rest of the class was working pretty well).

I guess they didn't remember that they'd had me in class before. Then again, maybe they did. Perhaps they thought that if they denied their names long enough, I'd believe them. Yeah, not so much.

Come to think of it, I haven't had a good name swap in a while. I don't know if it's the online attendance (with photos!) or if they know me and I know them just too well. (Of course, now that I've said this, it's sure to come up in the fall.)

Know-It-All Teens

Today we go into the wayback files for #ThrowbackThursday. This one is from September 16, 2008.

I have subbed for this particular teacher many times before, so I know that the newspapers in the office are hers. I grab them without really thinking about it anymore. I got to the classroom, put the papers down, and then I read the lesson plan. "Current events presentation preparation." I had everything they needed.

It wasn't even ten minutes into the period when a student accused me of failing to get today's newspapers. Um, they're right over there. Then I looked. All the papers had been taken. The student said that there had to be more in the office.

Arguing with a teenager is a pointless exercise. No matter what I say, the teen has an argument for it. We could spend a half hour debating the color of the desks, and I would not be able to convince the teen to even agree to disagree. So, I avoid these "discussions" whenever possible.

I told the student that I had picked up all the papers. She wanted to check the office. I knew that she'd need the proof of her own eyes, so I let her go "retrieve" the "rest" of the papers.

The student returned with no papers. She told me that the office ladies had said that I had already picked them up. (See, I was right!) She was still doubtful, but she had no other recourse, so she took her seat and stopped complaining.

They think I lie to them. They think I don't know anything. Such is what a sub gets to deal with every day.

I don't get this so much at the continuation high school anymore, but occasionally I'll run into a student who doesn't know me.

Ninja, You Trippin'

Last week was spring break. Since I write my posts a week in advance, that means that this week I'm kind of short on topics. So, time for the summer schedule, which means today is #ThrowbackThursday. This post originally appeared December 9, 2008. 

There were a lot of new faces at the continuation high school today. I heard the office staff talking about how they had booted a bunch of the "super seniors" (5th year seniors) in the past couple days, so that's probably why. Now I have new names to learn.

A knot of students were having the usual sort of conversations that they tend to have when I'm there. Unfortunately, most of the time their sentences are laced with profanity. I try to curb it as much as I can, so when they started using that racial epitaph that starts with "N", I made my displeasure known.

The boys had known me for some time, so they complied with my request. They used "ninja" instead.

The first boy then explains to another student: "It's like saying 'close the front door'."

Well, the phrase he was looking for was "shut the front door". They say that instead of shut the f*** up. The other students knew this and called the boy on his mistake. But he denied using "close" instead of "shut". I was waiting for the conversation to get heated, but it didn't. They quickly moved on to other topics.

Ninja? Well, at least it's a step in the right direction.

Do you participate in #ThrowbackThursday? Have you ever used "shut the front door"? What's one memorable mix-up you've uttered among friends or otherwise? 

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

This letter available for the giveaway

The Alleged Wasp

It was a middle school graphic arts class. I'm not sure exactly what they do, although the classroom was filled with computers and various shop-type equipment.

This particular teacher doesn't allow them on the computers when she's not there (I'm not sure what happened, but there has to be a good reason for it), so I knew going in they'd have book work.

And they weren't going to be happy about it.

4th period. I got the work passed out and explained. I think. I'm not sure when the boys spotted the wasp. Because it all went downhill after that.

They ran away. One complained that he was allergic. Another told me that I had to kill it. He indicated a broom. Then there was general shrieking and loud complaining.

So, was this wasp attacking them? No. As far as I could tell, there was no wasp. The boys pointed at the overhead lights. It was there.

These lights were at least 10 feet up. Way above their heads. So, nowhere near them.

Eventually I got them seated, but they would not settle. One shrieked that he saw the wasp, and another boy ran for it again.

"It's there. It's right there."

"It's coming out again."

I turned the first couple times. After that I stopped. I was right where the wasp was supposedly, yet I never saw the thing. I never heard the thing.

There was no wasp. I'm certain of it.

The rest of the class attempted to work in the midst of this chaos. There were six tables in the classroom. The wasp sighters were at only two. And then even one of those tables lost interest...

These boys started fighting over pencils. "No, that pencil is mine."

"What did you do with my pencil?"

"That was my lead."

I mean really. (Just imagine me shaking my head.)

The other reason I know the wasp didn't exist--no other period made mention of the beast.

Playboy Bond

School is back in session, but as I schedule these before the week, I have not as of this point worked any new days. Which means it's another #ThrowbackThursday. This originally appeared on December 3, 2008.

A boy in fourth period came up with that today. One boy introduced himself as, "Bond, James Bond". Another boy asked to pass by me by saying, "Please let the playboy pass". Then the "playboy" combined both. I would have said something about that being a good porno name, but that would have been way too friendly to a class that was behaving not at all how they should have behaved.

Today I covered a special ed class with a teacher who is the polar opposite of a leslacker (his lesson plans were so detailed, they were a thing of beauty). The day had gone pretty well. But fourth period would not work. I asked them to work. I told them to get to work. Four of them were working on a quiz. Only one (the one who had been absent yesterday) made any progress on it.

Then the boy who was seated at the back of the room ("James Bond") came up front to rifle through the teacher's overhead marker collection. I got him to put the markers back, but shortly thereafter I noticed that my pen was missing.

It's a cheap pen. I've learned not to use fancy pens at school. But it's a point of honor with me--I never lose pens. And this one is just about out of ink. I kind of want to get to the end of the ink with this thing. But it was gone.

I looked about for it. Many times it'll fall to the ground. But I knew that "James Bond" had swiped it when he was rifling through things earlier. I couldn't accuse him, though. Then I never would have gotten it back.

To the class I said that my pen had gone "missing" and I hoped that someone would "find" it. As usually happens, it found its way to the floor. An innocent student found it. She, of course, was then accused of the crime, but I knew that she couldn't have possibly done it even if she would have been so inclined. So, I got my pen back, and the students spent the rest of the period accusing everybody of swiping it.

If only they would put that kind of effort into their work.

Not So Obvious, I Guess

"What are we doing today?"

I didn't growl at the student even though I wanted to.

We had just gotten into the room. Most of the students were finding their seats. I made a beeline for the teacher's desk in search of lesson plans.

It was 4th period. The students and I waited together outside for someone to unlock the door for us. Obviously, I was just getting there. Obviously, I hadn't had a chance to set up the room let alone preview what the teacher intended for us to do. Obviously, it was going to take me a couple minutes to get up to speed.

Well, perhaps not obvious to a freshman.

Although, come on! It's not like they haven't had Fridays like this before. So many teachers were absent that two teachers didn't get their very own subs. They had to share.

I call it sub soup. These teachers' classes were covered period by period by different subs (and teachers) on their prep periods.

It's not a big deal. I go in, find the plans, peruse them as the class settles, and by a minute or two after the bell I'm good to go.

Well I would have been if I wasn't interrupted in my perusal by freshmen needing to know right then what we were doing.

I suppose I should have been grateful he didn't ask me what we were doing while we were waiting outside. (Although, that has happened to me before...)

Playboy Bond

It's summer! And rather than bore you with... Well, I'm not going to go into it right now. So, here's an oldie from December 3, 2008: 

A boy in fourth period came up with that today. One boy introduced himself as, "Bond, James Bond". Another boy asked to pass by me by saying, "Please let the playboy pass". Then the "playboy" combined both. I would have said something about that being a good porno name, but that would have been way too friendly to a class that was behaving not at all how they should have behaved.

Today I covered a special ed class with a teacher who is the polar opposite of a leslacker (his lesson plans were so detailed, they were a thing of beauty). The day had gone pretty well. But fourth period would not work. I asked them to work. I told them to get to work. Four of them were working on a quiz. Only one (the one who had been absent yesterday) made any progress on it.

Then the boy who was seated at the back of the room ("James Bond") came up front to rifle through the teacher's overhead marker collection. I got him to put the markers back, but shortly thereafter I noticed that my pen was missing.

It's a cheap pen. I've learned not to use fancy pens at school. But it's a point of honor with me--I never lose pens. And this one is just about out of ink. I kind of want to get to the end of the ink with this thing. But it was gone.

I looked about for it. Many times it'll fall to the ground. But I knew that "James Bond" had swiped it when he was rifling through things earlier. I couldn't accuse him, though. Then I never would have gotten it back.

To the class I said that my pen had gone "missing" and I hoped that someone would "find" it. As usually happens, it found its way to the floor. An innocent student found it. She, of course, was then accused of the crime, but I knew that she couldn't have possibly done it even if she would have been so inclined. So, I got my pen back, and the students spent the rest of the period accusing everybody of swiping it.

If only they would put that kind of effort into their work.

Arachnophobia

Ms. P warned me about her 5th period. She explained that they had a packet of worksheets, and the way she described the assignment put me in mind of throwing steak at a pack of wolves hoping they won't devour me. 

It wasn't that bad. They were in assigned seats. They remained seated (mostly). But as for getting any work done...

Jose threw something at (to?) a neighbor. I told him to stop throwing things. He informed me he didn't "throw" it. He "flicked" it. Fine. Then I told him to not cause any object to fly through the air. Best to nip these things early.

His neighbor insisted that he needed a textbook for reference. Francisco then caused a run on the books, and in the frenzy, someone managed to knock over the instructional aide's tea. And make a mess.

Carlos volunteered to go and get paper towels from the restrooms. He returned with them... eventually...

It was pretty much a constant battle all period. Just when I'd get one student settled, another would insist that she just had to sit in a seat that was not hers. At least she saw reason when I pulled out the referral form.

Then someone spotted a spider.

And Jose and Francisco were on top of their desks. Quaking.

The thing was two rows away from them. But they would not come down from their desks.

Sigh.

Once the spider was disposed of, they eventually settled down. Were the big, bad boys afraid of a piddly little spider? Or were they taking advantage of a crazy situation? I have a hard time believing that they were actually afraid. 

At the end of the period, I managed to get them seated rather than lining up at the door. (I have a trick for this.) So, the entire class passed the last couple minutes by making bird sounds.