A Likely Story

Friday. Twelfth grade English. Second period. 

It was almost an hour into the ninety-minute period (block schedule) when Jocelyn arrived. She asked if her friend, who didn't have a second period, could "hang out" in class with her.  

While Jocelyn informed her friend that she'd have to go elsewhere, I noticed that Jocelyn had handed me a yellow late pass. The pass said 8:39. It was 9:24. 

When Jocelyn returned to me to get the day's assignment, I asked her where she'd been for the better part of an hour. 

Jocelyn explained how there was a long line in the office to get a late pass, how she picked up a random yellow pass from the counter, and how the time stamps on those passes didn't mean anything, really. 

All of this? Lies. 

Rather than get into an argument with Jocelyn, I nodded, and she sat down and got to work. 

After second period was snack. I went to the attendance office. 

I told the clerk what Jocelyn had told me. As expected, she laughed. 

When a student arrives late, they get a pass. The attendance clerk stamps the pass with the time stamp machine. Then they're shooed to class. Most students arrive at class within a couple minutes of that time. (If the class is far from the office, it might be closer to five minutes.) 

If the student is more than a half hour late, the attendance office switches from yellow passes to red passes. Student gets it time stamped. Then the attendance office inputs the tardy as "excessive". 

The attendance clerk said that Jocelyn's grandmother had called the school wondering why Jocelyn had so many tardies. So, the clerk said she'd call Jocelyn out of class the next period and they could call the grandmother and talk to her on the phone together. 

Only... 

The next period the school had an assembly. (It was to celebrate students with good grades. It was beach themed. Perfect, actually as it was a 95℉ day.) I actually saw Jocelyn. She arrived late. She left early. And then I saw her strolling around campus when my class returned to class. Because, of course. 

I checked the attendance software, just to see. Jocelyn had been marked truant for both my period and the period after. The clerk left a note that she had been unable to find Jocelyn in the next class. 

Jocelyn is a senior. We're about one quarter away from graduation. I hope she doesn't miss it due to how much class she's been missing. 

Invalid Excuse

After catching a gig at 3 AM only to have it cancelled five minutes later, I was very happy to catch a Spanish class on Monday at 6 AM. (Things have been very slow lately. But February is more than half booked now.) 

Spanish 2, fifth period.

I had been asked to cover a third period elsewhere. (It was the teacher's prep period. They're on a block schedule; this was the odd periods day.) There was a minute or two of the passing period left when I arrived back at the classroom. I unlocked the door, and the students who had arrived before me filed in. 

Teachers covering other classes on their prep periods is pretty common. And some teachers will take the passing period to hit the restroom. The students wait. It's so common as to be something I've never needed to comment on before. 

Fifth period started. I got the students started on their online assignment. (Well, some of it was in their books, but the instructions had been posted online by their teacher.) I took roll. (So, a few minutes of the period had passed.) 

Two students walked in. Tardies have been a huge issue lately. The schools are trying many things to curb it. But for me, it just means I need to be aware of latecomers so I can mark them as tardy in the attendance. 

As they were arriving, the two students explained. "We knocked. You weren't here." 

I did not comment on this. Nor did I add this comment to my note to the teacher. I marked the kiddos tardy in the attendance. 

Because, huh? They knocked? When? And why did they leave? Where did they go?

Yeah, no. They're supposed to wait. If I wasn't there at the beginning of the period... Well, even then, they should wait. (There have been times when the teacher is late. This is very obvious because of the crowd of students waiting outside the door.) 

I checked. They're freshmen. That tracks.

The Tardy Boys

Friday. Passing period to eighth period. 

I was outside, greeting students. The room is a bungalow, and it is up a couple steps. Years ago, they installed a ramp over those stairs, and there's a railing along the ramp. I leaned against it. 

Oscar and Russell arrived. (I can't remember which showed up first, but one was waiting for the other.) They both parked themselves on the railing to get the "fresh air". (The kiddos don't like how I blast the air conditioner, but it was 90℉ outside.) 

The bell rang, and I headed inside. As I got class started, I noticed that neither Oscar nor Russell were in their seats. 

Initially, the boys both sat together at the same table. They, along with a third boy, made eighth period difficult. I had separated them the previous class period, and the whole class mellowed. It was lovely. (They had begged for "one more chance" the period before that. I informed them that that had been their "one more chance" and they blew it.) 

I poked my head out the door. Oscar and Russell were both still sitting on the railing. Um...

"You know you're both now late, right?"

They protested. They had gotten to their railing before the bell. I explained that they needed to be inside and in their seats at the bell. Sitting outside getting "fresh air" is not in class ready to learn. 

I had explained to the class in the first week that on time meant in their seats at the bell. I would, of course, give them a bit of grace if they were in the room and heading for their seats at the bell. But sitting outside and not coming in until I retrieved them? Nope, that's not how this thing works. 

Those two boys... Once I separated them, they mellowed. Once they get going, they're fine. But this is the moment where if I let them get away with stuff, they'll be trouble the whole school year. I won't do that to the incoming teacher if I can help it. 

Hopefully that's the only time I have to mark them tardy. We'll see...

Third Period, Starring Jonas

Wednesday. Third period.

Class started. I explained what they'd be doing. (See Wednesday's post about testing.) They got to work. 

Then Jonas made his entrance. Late. 

He announced that he was late. He announced a couple things. And he loudly asked what we were doing in class. 

The rest of the class was quietly working. 

Some students... They never quite get the memo that when you're late, you don't walk into the room like you're the star walking onto a stage. But some students are the stars, and they behave like this. 

I had already explained what we were doing for the students who were on time. I also had the agenda typed out nicely on a cute slide that was projected on the classroom TV. 

I pointed to this in response to Jonas. He could figure it out on his own. 

Sometime during class, Jonas then asked when Ms. B would be returning. Loudly.

The previous week I had said in two weeks. Apparently this was not specific enough for Jonas. He acted like I had not answered the question. 

I had a couple students finishing up their testing. I was keeping a quiet room. If Jonas had raised his hand and asked quietly, I probably would have answered. But he just announced to the quiet room, "When is Ms. B coming back?" 

Yeah, not responding to that. 

Besides, I was going to tell them on Friday that it was my last day. 

Which is what I did. On Friday, I made the announcement that Ms. B would return on Monday. My time with them was finished. 

Jonas? Was absent that day.

Running Late

It was Friday morning, and I was having a Friday Late. 

But I wasn't too concerned. It was already going to be an odd day. I had gotten an email the prior day about how the teacher I was scheduled to cover wasn't going to need me all day, so they had modified my schedule so I'd be roving rather than covering one class. 

(Yeah, so Ms. M had seniors, and Senior Seminar--a day when all the seniors do a thing together out of class--got moved to this particular Friday. Ms. M only had one period of sophomores. I love roving days, so the switch wasn't going to bother me.)

I left home at the usual time, but I got on campus about ten minutes later than normal. Then, while checking in for the day, I took some time to talk to the secretary. Stuff about the roving day. The schedule she had emailed me had been altered as two of the teachers no longer needed me, but a third did. 

By the time I left the office to head to the classroom, the warning bell had rung. (Usually I have ten to fifteen minutes before the school day starts to get set up.) And I had to get from the main office to the back of the school. I had time, but I was going to have a crowd of students waiting.

Only, I did not. Weird.

I got to the classroom a good two minutes (at least) after the warning bell, and there were no students in sight. 

Uh oh. Did I make a mistake? Was I at the correct room for the period? 

I double checked my book. Yup, I was in the right place.

I opened the door. I almost went in to put my bag down when a student arrived. And then another. Whew. They were just cutting it close.

When the bell rang to start class, I had seventeen students. Out of thirty-four. Over the first twenty or so minutes of class, eight more students arrived. (Yeah, they've got a tardy problem at the school. Which is funny as the school day now starts at 8:30 AM. Before 2020, school started at 7:30 AM.) 

Well, at least they weren't waiting on me. And I was there before the bell.

There's just something about Fridays...

A Bathroom Emergency

For my new long-term assignment, I have three periods of math (two are co-taught) and three periods of computer science. Sixth period is computer science. It was Wednesday.

Tardiness has become a huge issue on campus. (Since they did away with tardy sweep, we have students who amble in at any time during class as if they don't have a care in the world.) 

So, when Reid walked in almost fifteen minutes late, I inwardly grumbled and noted the time. (I note very late arrival times in the attendance.) 

Immediately behind Reid was Kate from security. Uh oh...

Kate asked what Reid had been doing out of class. 

Reid: "I had a bathroom emergency..."

(It's become a thing, mostly with the boys, if they've been out of class "to the restroom" for longer than reasonable and they are questioned on it, their answer is long, involved, and poop-filled.)

Reid's pause carried certain implications.

Kate wasn't buying this. Reid hadn't asked to go to the restroom, so he was considered tardy. (If a student asks to use the restroom during passing period, I don't mark them tardy if they get back to class after the bell.) 

And Reid hadn't been near the restrooms. He had been with several other boys, and they were peeking around corners, looking out for security most likely.

All of this was part of the lecture Kate gave Reid. That was all he got, for now. Once he was settled into class, Kate asked me his name, which I gave her. 

I don't know if Reid fully realized it, but he is now on security's radar. Certain students aren't allowed out of class during class time without an escort because they have a tendency to wander. This was step one of being added to that list. 

(I wonder if he knows Austin. If not, I should introduce them. Austin might be able to warn Reid of what happens if Reid continues down the roaming campus path.) 

Forgeries

Thursday. Seventh period. Seventh grade world history.

The class was calm. Cooperative. I gave instructions, and they got to work. 

Then, fifteen minutes later, seven or eight students walked in, five of them with hall passes. And inwardly, I groaned. If only they had stayed gone...

I know. That's terrible of me to say. But they were all the troublemakers. The loud ones. The ones who couldn't stay seated and weren't doing any work. (This was my third time with the group as I had gotten an almost complete week.) 

Once I got them sort of settled (as settled as they were going to get), I went to amend the online attendance. I went through the passes. 

On all but one pass, "not excused tardy" was scratched out and "excused" had been written. 

It was the way that the "not excused tardy" was scratched out and the way that "excused" had been written that was noteworthy. They had scribbled out the "not excused tardy" as if they were trying to blot it out, but they did a terrible job of it. "Excused" was very light and in block letters (unlike how the counselor had written the pass). It looked like they had used the outside walls as a hard surface on which to write.

I did not believe that for a second. I marked them all tardy.

One of the other late students (who hadn't bothered to bring me a pass) told me that they shouldn't be marked tardy as they had been locked in the new building on campus. 

I nodded. And I marked him tardy.

Because that's another thing that didn't pass the smell test. While all the classrooms lock to keep people out, none of them lock from the inside. I've been in the new building, and I know that if you're in the building and you want out, you can easily get out. There are many exits.

They don't realize that I've been around a while. They were definitely trying to get one over on the sub. Too bad they tried in on the sub who knows her way around that school.