Pot, Meet Kettle

Certain students are memorable and not in a good way.  

The minute Ashley walked in I remembered her.  This girl is angry.  She behaves however she wants to, and consequences don't faze her.  But apparently today was a good day.

The class was working on questions (they are reading Huck Finn) when Ashley looked at me as if for the first time.

"I had you in Mrs. R's class.  Everybody hated you."

Me: "Um, okay?"

I wasn't sure how to respond to that.  Was I supposed to be upset?  Angry?  Apologetic?  I wasn't sure what reaction Ashley was after, so I gave none.  She moved on.  I guess she didn't get what she was after.

In the class following, Ashley's name came up.  She had left behind something of hers, and her name was on it.  

"Ashley?"

"Oh, her."

"I hate her."

"She's so loud."

And the comments got worse from there.  I directed the class back to their work, and Ashley was quickly forgotten.

Oh, so okay.  Ashley was projecting.  I get it!  

Late

I heard my alarm.  Really, I did.  But I still managed to sleep through it, and I got out of bed at 5:45 AM.  Oops.  (I was about 10 minutes late.)  Then because it's Friday and I'm exhausted from my week in the 8th grade science class, I managed to leave the house 25 minutes late.  Yikes doesn't even cover it.

So, I was late this morning.  Very late.  So late that I never heard the warning bell.  I wasn't even on campus when the warning bell rang.

I ran into the office.  Since I had been at the school all week, my paperwork was there, so it took me about 30 seconds to check in and get the room key.  I nearly ran to the classroom.  I got there with enough time to get the kiddos in the room before the tardy bell rang.  And I'm pretty sure that the tardy bell rang late (that's a discussion for another day).  

Of course, this was the morning that getting there early would have been best.  They were doing an "investigation" on the atom--like a lab, but with no data collection.  And there were all sorts of things to set up.  

Yeah, things didn't go so well today.  By third period I had settled into the day, but those first two periods...  Wow, what a trial!

I'm so glad it's Friday.  Tomorrow I'm going to sleep in so late that I doubt I'll see morning.

Written Up

I'm still in that science class.  It's getting to me.  I don't have craziness--just students who won't stop talking amongst themselves.  I am so ready to be done.

There is a solution to my problem.  I need to kick students out of class.  It's pretty simple.  I just write them up (and excessive talking is a valid reason), and poof, they're gone for two days.  

I have done this.  I've given three students the boot--one Tuesday, one Wednesday, and one today. And while this does help a bit, it isn't having the impact I would like.  I'm still dealing with all the talking.

So, I stare at the classes.  And I try to narrow down my choices.  Sure, I could boot five at a time, but that seems rather excessive.  I don't want to end up with writer's cramp.  It's just so hard to choose.  

Oblivious

Yesterday as I was standing by the door as 6th period was filing in, one of the girls asked if she could go to her band class.  This is not an unusual request.  Usually with a sub the students are doing mostly busy work, so missing class won't hurt the students.  But since the teacher is out for the week, and it's a subject that I can teach (in fact, the lesson plans have me introducing them to the atom), it was not a day that this student could miss.  I told her no.

Today, same period, same girl, same question.  I would think that after yesterday (when I actually lectured on a topic new to them and they actually took notes), the girl would have figured out that she can't miss class.  Apparently not.  

Earlier in the day today, another girl commented upon my makeup.  She told me I looked funny.  Um, okay.  So, with a sweet voice, I replied that I appreciated how she took the time to tell me that I didn't look all that good, and how kind she was to comment, etc.  She was offended.  

Sigh.  8th graders.  They just don't think.

Lithium

Remember yesterday how I was switched into a math class?  Well, today I went back to the science class.  Can't keep this straight?  Neither can I.

Today they were getting their introduction to the atom.  We did the rub-the-balloon-on-the-head-to-make-the-hair-stand-up bit.  I made the stream of water bend.  And I went over the proton, neutron, and electron stuff.  The basics.

But this all reminded me of college.  I used to sit in my college chemistry class and try to stay awake.  Taking notes only did so much.  I used to let my eyes wander, and they'd see the periodic table that was posted behind the professor.  And my eyes always rested on lithium.

This was the early '90's.  So, a certain song would go through my head.  "Lithium" by Nirvana.  

To this day, when I think of the Periodic Table, I think of Nirvana.  Silly, I know, but it entertains me.

Switcheroo

Today I got a lovely surprise. When I showed up at school, I was told that I was subbing for a different teacher than the one who I thought I was going to sub for. Yeah!

Previously, I mentioned how I was not looking forward to this assignment. So, this morning when I was told that the teacher had made a miraculous recovery and was back at work, I was thrilled. Then I got a good look at the new assignment.

You know the 8th graders that I had in the science class that I did not want to go back to? Well, today I was covering for their math teacher. She's going to be out all week, so I've basically got the same students, just in a slightly different configuration.

Oh well. At least math is a subject that I'm comfortable with. And the assignment is for the week. I was serious when I said that this week is traditionally light for subs.

A Foggy New Year

It was just after midnight and time to go home. The fog had rolled in. Visibility was...well, nothing was very visible out there.

We could see a few feet in front of us. Luckily, the way home was well-known, so familiarity helped a bit. That and slow driving. Because you just know that there is some idiot driving out there with a death wish.

We found him within a couple miles of home. Stop sign? Nah, he didn't have to stop at the stop sign. And sure, why not blow by it at 40 miles an hour?

I'm glad I don't live someplace where fog is a common problem.