It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting at home, reading three books and visiting the brooklyn museum to see the basquiat exhibit. feels like just yesterday, but i've been back to work for a week now. and with work comes the many challenges that many of us teachers face on a regular basis. I get back to school with not a lot planned, and learn that i have to give midterms this week. so, midterms began today. i really don't like giving kids tests, but those are the rules, and i guess i have to follow them. anytime i give a test, i give a long speech ahead of time. and it goes a little something like this "there should be no talking during the test...and that means that no one should talk even after they've finished the test. the test is not over until i let everyone know that it's over. if you talk, i have to give you a zero. if you 'appear' to be cheating you will get a zero...so that means don't turn around and look at your friends, or anything else that may seem like you're cheating." so i've been with these kids for 8 months now...they should know the routine...right???? WRONG. either kids think i'm just a moron, or they really have no idea that they are not slick. i'm pretty tough, but i always give my kids a second chance. i'm really not into writing kids up and suspending them. we always start with a clean slate...i don't hold grudges with them. but i've noticed that by giving them more opportunities to fuck up, they seem to think i'm a pushover and take advantage of my style. i gave 7 kids zeros on their midterms today. despite what i told them before we began this test (and all of our other tests), i had kids passing notes to each other while they were taking the test, silently communicating (talking, rather mouthing to each other), and some just decided to talk to others out loud. i couldn't believe it. so i gave them zeros and then wrote them up. i forwarded my referrals to the dean, and he decided to talk to some of the kids. despite the fact that i wrote on the referral that the kids "appeared" to be cheating, when he spoke to them he asked "why were you cheating?" he's so incompetent sometimes, well not just some of the time. discipline them yes, but confront them properly. don't say i said something that i did not.
then i had a kid tell me (after i pulled it out of him) that he didn't have any money, and can't get any from either of his parents b/c they don't have it to give. it makes no sense to me that so many people go without eating...absolutely NO SENSE. he was so distraught. i'm glad i was able to contain myself. another kid bascially lied on me today about the recent elections we had. he told his mom that i kept the election open longer than i really did, and he told her i told him that he won the election before i let the bilingual students vote. that was just a blatant lie! he's being a sore loser, and i guess i'm the easiest one to blame for his defeat! KIDS!!! what a fucking day.
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