Simultaneous Generation of Ideas

Middle school graphic arts class. Because there was a sub, they were stuck doing bookwork. (And they didn't like that one bit. Let's just say it was an "interesting" day.)

Their assignment was to read an article about the guy who invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos (a snack many of them consume daily), answer some questions, and then:

Click on pic to make it bigger.

One of the classes was actually on task. They discussed ideas. (One table discussed grilled cheese ice cream. Ick!) And then one boy accused a girl of stealing his idea.

That was my cue to intervene.

The boy showed me his idea. Ramen noodles with bacon. (The kiddos are obsessed with bacon.) He explained that he went to show the girl (who was seated at a different table), and her idea was the same.

Only, it wasn't. She was doing a noodle thing as well, but it was something about double the noodles. No bacon involved. Because they were both noodles, the boy said they were the same.

I explained that the ideas were different. The girl hadn't stolen his idea. Assuming that they hadn't been in communication before drawing their pictures, they had stumbled upon the simultaneous generation of ideas, or multiple discovery. I talked movies, but if you Google those terms, you get all sorts of interesting articles.

The boy, however, continued to claim the girl had stolen his idea. As he was just complaining, I walked away and let him be. At a certain point, I'm not going to change his mind. And if he's not disturbing anyone (other than them having to listen to his continuous complaint), it's a waste of my time to continue to argue.

At the end of the period, I collected their work. As I neatened up the pile, I found that the boy hadn't turned in his work. After all that, he doesn't turn it in?

Middle schoolers. *shakes head*

My "Favorite" Sophomores

I thought that I wouldn't have to deal with Kevin that Thursday, but then he walked in late with a pass. But, in a strange reversal, this 6th period actually worked, and quietly. (This was the same day as yesterday's post. I was so surprised to actually get a good class. One. But I'll take one.)

I wonder if Kevin even remembered me. I hope not.

Basically, Kevin spent all the time I had him in class avoiding work. Oh, he claimed he was going to "get it done" and he had "plenty of time", but I have yet to see him complete any work in class.

Last Monday I encountered Asia again. I noticed her name on 3rd period's roll sheet (for a photography class), so I had more warning than her.

Asia and I had a couple run-ins last year. She loudly criticized me when I insisted that she, um, settle down and do work. Any time I'd pass her on campus, she loudly laughed at me. I pretended not to hear.

Passing period. I stood at the front of the room as the students entered. I heard Asia as she peeked in the room, saw me, and then made her displeasure known with a string of expletives. Thankfully, she did this outside.

I looked at a girl seated directly in front of me. "She hates me," I told her.

Asia almost entered the room, but then turned and repeated her invective.

"She really hates me."

Eventually, Asia entered the room. Took her seat. She put on her pleasant face and spoke politely to me. All period.

I was impressed. She's learned to put on a false facade even though she hates me. Progress. I'll take it.

Kevin also didn't make any waves. It wasn't until after class that his story gets interesting.

On Kevin's desk, he left behind some papers. Assuming he had left behind his assignment, I went to retrieve them. And found something I did not expect.

The top page was a printed set of instructions:

1. Ask Mr. W if you can still turn in missing assignments.
2. If not, ask if remaining assignments will pull up grade.
3. Repeat for Ms. S.
4. Repeat for Mr. V.

The following pages were printouts of the gradebook for his classes. Unsurprisingly, he's getting Fs in all those classes. (Mr. W was who I was subbing for--English. Ms. S teaches home ec/cooking. Mr. V teaches chemistry.) 

I was not terribly shocked. Nor was I terribly shocked that those pages lay forgotten on a desk. I rather doubt Kevin is planning on following any of the instructions from his counselor. (That's why he was late to class. Presumably, they were discussing how he's failing high school.) 

I strongly suspect my Kevin stories will soon be coming to you from the continuation high school.

The Quiet Game

Freshman English. It had been a very long day, but it was only 4th period. (The students do not like their teacher, and so they've gone wild.)

At a ceratin point, there's nothing more for me to do. I try to contain the chaos, but otherwise I sit back and watch.

The students were loud. Most weren't doing the assignment. (They were supposed to be doing a "close read" of "The Lady or the Tiger".) The conversations were typical of freshmen. (I think. I wasn't really listening.) In the midst of this, one student decided it was time to play The Quiet Game.

via GIPHY

Seriously? They wouldn't shut up while I practically did the first question for them, but when they had leave to discuss their work (not that they were using the permission to talk constructively), they think The Quiet Game is fun?

via GIPHY

One student challenged another. Then, "The first person to talk is a loser," type of thing. And suddenly the whole room was silent--except for all the snickering.

The silence lasted for maybe two minutes. They tried again. Still, not long. The most peace I had during class, certainly. Although, I'd have traded any silence for actual work on the assignment.

Sigh. Freshmen...

Cult of You

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

Most of you are writers of some sort. You've written blog posts. Some of you have written novels. Maybe you've written articles or maybe you've written random Facebook posts. Plus, you have a real life where you've done things and said things that are remembered. Perhaps you don't think much of it, but...

What if someone has taken your "teachings" and created a religion (or a cult) out of them?

Updating Pictures, Part 6

It's been a couple weeks since I last did this. It seems I need that much time to get through what is now a photo stash.

First up, I've updated some pictures of my little pouches that are big enough to hold a credit card or gift card...

Pink with Blue Q Gift Card Wallet

Gift Card Holder with Knitted Monogram A in Gray and Neon Green

Purple with Gray X Knitted Monogram Gift Card Holder

Eventually, I'll get all the ones I still have listed... 

But I can make any letter... 

You may remember all of these. They were used to illustrate my A to Z Challenge posts.

...in so many different color combinations that I can't list them all. 

I also managed to relist two Christmas ornaments... 

Christmas Ornament Knitted Tree Ball in Blue and White Beads

Red, Purple, and Yellow Knit Christmas Ball 

Progress. Sort of.

Okay with an F

I was back in Mr. M's class. (This is getting to be a habit.) It was Friday, so they had a quiz.

It's a special ed. class, so their quizzes are open book. When they finished, if there was time, the instructional aide corrected their quizzes. If there was time, and if they didn't do so well on the quiz, the aide gave the quizzes back to the students to fix.

(They don't get full credit, however. They only get the full points if they got it right the first time.)

It was first period. The aide handed back a quiz to the first student to finish. And he was not pleased.

You should have seen him. He flailed about. Rolled his eyes. Cried. Threw his head towards his desk. From across the room I could see his performance.

Even more impressive, he did this all silently (as the rest of the class was still working on their quizzes).

Later, I talked to the aide. Apparently he always does this. You'd think he'd be more grateful with the help on getting a better grade.

In a following period (period 4, I think), I was the one correcting quizzes. I gave a boy back a quiz with a bunch of mistakes. I got busy with other things, so I didn't re-collect his quiz until the end of the period. That's when I saw he hadn't touched his quiz.

He got seven wrong. Out of twelve. That's more than half. I don't need a calculator to know that's less than 50% correct, so that's an F. I told him so.

"I'm fine with that grade."

Um, really? Even when I told him he didn't get half right?

It's a middle school thing, I think. I hope.

If you had failed a quiz, and your teacher gave you back your paper with the opportunity to fix your mistakes, would you fix your mistakes? (I know I would!)

Wasting his Time

It was one of those easy days. 12th grade English. They had a writing assessment to do. (It's something they've done four times a year every year since they were freshmen.)

At lunch I ran into another sub (Ms. I.). (Those of us who have been around a while are on friendly terms with each other.) She also had an English class (10th or 11th graders, I think). They were also doing the writing assessment.

So, we were comparing notes.

The writing assessment is done the same for all English classes. A day or so before the writing day, the kiddos are given a set of articles (two or three), and sometimes they also get a video to watch. These all tie in to the topic of the essay. They have the period to read the articles and annotate them. They can make as many notes as they wish. Then they leave the articles with the teacher.

On the writing day, they get their articles back, and they also get the writing prompt. They have the period to write.

Ms. I. was telling me about her group. Same as me, her day was going pretty smoothly. Except there was this one boy...

Ms. I. had the usual cell phone battle with him. (I was lucky enough to tell my group no cell phones, and they complied.) She told him to put his cell phone away, and he took his time doing it. Then he needed to use the restroom. And he was gone a good 15 minutes.

So, they got to the end of the period, and the boy wasn't finished with his essay. He asked Ms. I. if he could come back in the next class to finish it.

I laughed. I probably would have laughed in the boy's face, too. Ms. I. is nicer than me, though. She did not, however, let him continue working on the essay.

They had the period to complete the essay. It's not our problem if they wasted that time. I think we need one of those signs, kind of like the "a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part".