Guess My Musical Instrument

"You look like you play the oboe."

That's what got my attention. The boy to whom the comment was directed looked confused.

"Elbow?"

What does an oboe player look like? I challenged the boy who made the initial comment. He hemmed and hawed. I asked him if I looked like an oboe player. He said I didn't.

Funny. I guess that decade I spent in various school bands was all my imagination, then. (Although, I was never very good...)

I informed the boy that one couldn't tell what instrument one played just by looking at them.

"What instrument does he play?" he asked, pointing at the boy seated next to him.

Didn't I just say...

Fine. I needed to narrow it down a bit. Woodwind or brass? I was told woodwind.

I looked at the boy in question. How was I supposed to know what he played? I threw out saxophone followed by my second guess of bass clarinet.

His eyes went wide. He was an alto sax player.

"What instrument does she play?"

After being told woodwind, I thought flute. But that's way too obvious. So, I said clarinet. But...flute.

You'd think they'd be done, right? But no. It seemed like half the geometry class was in the band. And I was directed to another student. Boy. Woodwind.

"Clarinet?"

Bullseye. Next, a girl. Brass.

"French horn?"

(French horn players... Well, she just seemed like... But I can't tell what instrument just by looking!)

Finally, the boy who started all this told me to guess him. Brass. Well, I knew he had to be low brass, so I went with the obvious.

"Trombone?"

They now thought I was a witch. The clarinet player was very impressed. I don't know why. Perhaps if I had gotten 100%, but I didn't. Not really.

I guess my time in various bands (in junior high, high school, and college) paid off. Somewhat.

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

Did you play in your high school band? What instrument? If you could play a musical instrument, which one would you choose?

Friday's Earthquake

...was the topic of conversation on Monday.

(I don't know if you heard. We had an earthquake around these parts on Friday, March 28th. Nothing like the one in Chile, of course.)

By Monday, I had just about forgotten about it. (Don't get me wrong. It was a good sized one. And it went on for a long time. But by Monday other things were on my mind.) So much so that it took me a good two minutes to realize that the shattered picture on the floor of the science classroom was earthquake damage.

And then I put it out of my mind again.

"We had three earthquakes in the last twenty minutes."

Said a girl as she walked in for third period. (Sure, we have earthquakes all the time. Just not ones that anyone feels.) Another girl followed this first girl in the room, and they compared earthquake apps on their phones.

The first girl was skittish. She said she didn't like earthquakes and the one Friday night made her cry. Her father found the app for her. Although, I don't know how that was supposed to make her feel better.

Students were everywhere when the quake hit. One said he and his girlfriend were on his computer watching a movie (and he let her exit the room first). One girl was already in bed (which her classmates called boring, but they seemed to have expected it of her). One boy admitted to being on the toilet (which apparently his mother found hilarious).

Then there was the conversation about "The Big One". And they reviewed what they had learned about earthquakes in their Earth Science class (two to three years ago for them as they were all juniors and seniors).

With all the earthquake talk, someone had to make a silly comment.

"What's an earthquake?"

A girl turned towards the boy and offered this reply: "It's when a woman is born with an extra eye."

That got laughter. The girl explained that when someone asks a stupid question, she gives the most ridiculous response she can think of. I think that qualifies.

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

Have you ever been in an earthquake? What's your best earthquake story? Or, which danger would you prefer: earthquakes or tornadoes? 

Empty Classroom

This is the classroom from Tuesday's post:

...without students.

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

Is this how you pictured the room from Tuesday's post? Is this how you pictured the classrooms I sub in normally? How does this compare to classrooms you've been in?

Doing Battle

7th grade world history. They had a test...

There's something about having a sub in the room that makes your normal student a bit crazy. Add in a test, and it can be bedlam.

I knew the group was going to be difficult. So, I started off by warning them that there would be no talking. And if any of them did talk, I would take their test from them and give them a zero.

(I choose to believe that when the teacher returns, she gives them back their tests and lets them finish.)

They needed a couple warnings and several shushings, but eventually they settled into silence. And then one boy just had to ask a question. A question that had been answered already. And he asked it at maximum volume. For the whole class to hear.

(As opposed to raising his hand, waiting for me to approach, and then asking the question just to me in a soft voice.)

I try to be nice. I try to be accommodating. But there's a point when a student is just trying to stir things up.

And it was clear that this class needed an example...

"You're writing me up for asking a question?"

Again, at maximum volume, in a quiet classroom, while the rest of the class was attempting to take their test. But such subtleties were lost on him.

I hoped the object lesson would be enough. But no. Then two boys just had to whisper something to one another...

In the end, I took away four tests, wrote up the one student, and wrote down several other names.

Some classes should not take tests when they have a sub. Grrr.

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

Did you ever take a test with a sub, or did your teachers postpone tests when there was a sub?

Car-Less

It's Thursday, so it's time for my weekly random question...

I was out driving someplace, sitting at a red light, waiting for the left arrow to turn green. And this thought just popped into my head...

What if cars had never become popular?

That is to say:

What if when automobiles were invented, people looked upon them with mild disdain, and rather than adopting the technology, it fell into disrepute? What if we had no cars on our roads today because of this?

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

Big Fat Lie

The class was to watch The Odyssey. One instruction stood out:

Instruct the students to remove all backpacks and bags from their laps and desks. Too much temptation to eat in class or use cell phones.

Easy enough.

I did my usual intro, explained what they were doing, and I passed out their questions. (They had a list of questions to answer that went along with what they were watching.) That's when I caught the boy with a Hot Cheeto in his hand.

"Put away the food."

The boy: "But she lets us eat in class."

Oh really? Seems to me that note in the lesson plan says otherwise. I said as much to the student.

Busted.

He put away the food without further incident. Freshmen, sigh.

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

Did your teachers let you eat in class? Ever try to sneak a bite in?

Oh, and one last thing... The blog I captain for my Etsy team is doing a B theme today as well. I'd love it if you'd stop by and check it out. It's heavy on images and light on text.

Admitting the Ploy

Campus security walked into the classroom. He had a stack of Saturday School slips.

Saturday School is a 4-hour Saturday detention. Various infractions merit this punishment such as unexcused absences, missing previous detentions, and the usual things teens get punished for.

Security called up various students. As he did that, Aaron got my attention. He mouthed, "I'm not here." So, naturally, when security called his name, I pointed him out.

Reluctantly, Aaron came up to retrieve his slip. On the way back to his desk, he threw the slip in the trash.

Yeah, I've never seen that one before (insert sarcasm font here).

After security left (after distributing five slips), Aaron explained just how he was going to get out of going to Saturday School. When he got the slip, he was directed to a list which he was to sign to acknowledge receipt of the slip. He didn't sign.

His reasoning: no one can prove he got the slip.

Which might be true. Except we saw him get the slip. And he just admitted to the adult in the room what he had done.

Aaron's not as smart as he thinks he is. If he'd said nothing, I'd have thought nothing of it. (The slip in the trash means nothing. Most of the students know when and where to report.) But by admitting this, I know that I should at least mention this in the note to his teacher.

I don't know what he gets out of this little deception, anyway. He's eventually going to have to serve the detention. If he doesn't, the punishments get harsher.

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

Do you think he got away with it? Did you ever try to get out of a detention?