Schedule Change

Jennifer did not belong in a CAHSEE math class. Yet, she was in that first period class on the first day of school.

(I am, of course, referring to the class I covered for the first two weeks of school. I have a feeling I'll be referring back to this class from time to time, especially as I encounter students I met there first.)

Jennifer approached me after class that first day. She wanted to know how like the CAHSEE the practice test they were given was. Because if that's what it was like, she knew she didn't need to be in the CAHSEE prep class.

Apparently, she had moved to the area from out of state, which is why she had not passed the CAHSEE previously. She explained that her last math class has been pre-calculus. I agreed that she'd probably pass the CAHSEE with no problem.

By the second and third day, I could see that Jennifer did not belong in that first period class. It was well beneath her abilities.

Jennifer talked to her counselor. I mentioned Jennifer to the administrator keeping track of us subs. Jennifer stopped showing up after the fourth day. I assumed she got her schedule change.

Last Thursday I learned where she ended up.

I was covering a science class. First period was AP Environmental Science. I recognized a name on the roll sheet. Jennifer.

Now, I'm really glad she managed to get out of the CAHSEE class. An AP class is a much better fit for her abilities.

Reprieve

Monday was a bad day. A really bad day.

I covered an 8th grade pre-algebra class. The lesson plan had me going over fill-in-the-blank notes with the classes. I couldn't get them to stop talking long enough to complete those notes.

I tried everything. I called out the talking students. Moved a couple around. Kicked a couple out of class. Took away time from their break. Nothing worked.

I was scheduled to return on Tuesday. I tried not to think too much about it overnight.

I got back to the school Tuesday morning. The secretary told me, "You've been reassigned."

YES!!!

There was a bit of a sub crunch, so I was sent to the other middle school.

Subject: 8th grade pre-algebra. The classes: Oh, so much better!

They weren't silent. But they let me get through the stuff I had to tell them. And I think the fact that I didn't have a lecture/notes to give them helped. Of course, the fact that they let me do anything at all tells you how much more cooperative they were than that other class.

Same grade. Same subject. But the classes were so completely different. Tuesday was a good day.

(I ran into the sub who ended up in the other class on Tuesday. He had the same experience with them that I did. So, it wasn't just me.)

Amigurumi Pumpkins

I have this really bad habit of finishing all my projects at the same time. Leaving me with nothing to do with my hands! Ugh.

I was actually sitting and watching the TV. My fingers itched. They needed something to do. So, I went looking through my Pinterest boards. Actually, I was looking for something else when I stumbled upon something I'd pinned almost a year ago (Pinterest tells me it was pinned 51 weeks ago).

The timing was impeccable. I already had the yarn (color name: pumpkin) and the fiberfill.

Aren't they cute?

A Plausible Lie

"What does this look like?"

It was 6th period in a 9th grade English class. They were doing "Vocabulary Pictures". The assignment was to take four of their vocabulary words and draw them.

The boy was illustrating "vow". I overheard the conversation he had with his tablemates. He decided to draw a ring on a finger, as in the vow one takes when getting married. A decent interpretation, I thought.

The other boys at his table didn't think his picture was very good.

(I am terrible at drawing. I avoid it as much as I possibly can. So, when a student asks if a picture is good, I never tell them that it's not. Most of the time, it's better than I could do. If it's not, then that student doesn't need my criticism. That student needs my support. And I am always nice to them about it.)

The boy then asked me what I thought of his drawing. He held it up for me.

I knew what he was going for. And if I looked very closely, I could see it. The ring was large and prominent as was the finger it was on. He had drawn the other fingers very small and close to the palm.

Perspective-wise, it was well done. Execution-wise...

He asked me what I thought it was. I swallowed my answer. I couldn't tell him.

I can't even tell you what I thought it looked like. I made a promise when I started this blog that there would be nothing objectionable on this blog. I checked a little box. That's why there's no content warning when you try to access the blog.

Before I can tell you what it looked like to me, I would need that content warning.

Of course, what I saw did not even occur to them. If it had...

I frantically searched for a lie. A plausible lie. What did it look like? Other than that. What could I say?

In the end I said I didn't know. The boy went on to his next panel. And I didn't laugh.

I really should worry about my mind.

Dinner with a Time Traveller

What if you could travel back in time, but only long enough to have dinner with a friend? This friend knows you're a time traveller...  

(Okay, I know I'm leaving out a lot of details that would make this scenario make sense. But this is "what if?" Thursday, so this is only here to give you something to ponder. Then again, if you can add the details to make this scenario make sense, you've got a better story here than I do.)

...and this friend can ask you anything. Would you answer your friend's questions? Would you volunteer information? Would you consider any questions about the future off limits?  

Goofing Off in Period 3

Me: "Okay, Daniel, settle down. You could get some work done this period. Unlike period 3. You don't want to make the note this period, too."

Daniel: "What did I do in period 3?"

The majority of the class in period 3 was on task and fine. However, four boys decided it was play time, and I spent all of my energy "chasing" after them.

Me: "First, there was that paper airplane..."

Daniel: "That wasn't me. That was some guy over in that row," and he pointed over one row and ahead of where he was seated.

About half the class had been in period 3 with him, and they agreed that the paper airplane hadn't originated with Daniel. (Period 3 was government. This class was economics. The seniors need both classes to graduate, so that's why I had so many duplicate students.)

Daniel continued: "I wasn't even in the room."

He had been out of the room for a time. But the class had been fine until he returned from the office. When he got back, the crazy started. That's what made me think he was the instigator. I still think that.

"Then, the three of you..."

He didn't deny any of the other charges. He knew he had been that student--the one who was goofing off all period. And he didn't ask for me to remove his name from "the list". Which I wouldn't have done anyway.

He didn't get any work done that period, but he didn't play around, either. I guess it helped that two of his buddies weren't there, so he had no one to play off of.

Not Sneaky Enough

Last day in the math class. They had a test. I didn't plan it that way; that's just how it worked out.

Brandon was one of the reasons I modified the seating chart. He and three others sat in the back far corner, getting into their own conversations while I went over the material. They knew it all already. They took algebra last year. Never mind that they failed it--the reason they had to repeat it this year.

Brandon, by sheer luck of the draw, ended up in a front row seat.

I passed out the tests and they got started. Brandon raised his hand.

"Am I supposed to add these?"

The test was on exponents, and knowing whether to add or multiply was the point of the question. I replied with a, "That's what you're supposed to know," and I moved on.

Brandon called me over a few more times. All his questions had to do with how to do the problems.

"Is this one right?"

I did not answer.

The fifth time he called me over, his neighbor remarked, "It's a test. She's not going to answer you."

(I will clarify directions. Sometimes the copy is bad or something is unclear. There can be mistakes on the test. So, I do respond to raised hands during a test. To a point.)

Brandon was one of the last students done. He spent ten minutes checking over his answers.

After I had all the tests, I released the students from the imposed silence. I gathered the tests, paperclipped them, and put them away. Brandon pulled out his notes.

"Wait. Can I check something on my test?"

He explained that in the rush to finish, he had written the wrong answer for a problem. "I did it right, but I just wrote the wrong thing in the answer column." So, I said I'd check.

The problem:

Under it he wrote 1/-2. In the answer column, he did indeed write -2.

The answer should have been 1/2. I would have given it to him except for that pesky negative sign. (I spent quite a bit of time explaining that a negative exponent means "take the reciprocal" and that the resulting answer is NOT negative. Adding the negative sign makes the answer wrong.)

I informed Brandon that he got it wrong. I explained why.

"Let me see... No, it's right. See, it's positive. Right. There."

As he leaned over me with his pencil and added a small vertical line over the top of the small horizontal one already on his paper.

Geez. Does he think I'm that stupid? I marked it wrong right then and there.

And after all that, it turns out that Brandon only missed three or four questions on the test. He got a B.