"Hi, Julie!"
I have three days of homework to grade, materials to prepare, lesson plans to tweak, a bedroom to tidy, and more. So what do I do when I get home? Spend an hour and a half scanning and uploading pictures, of course!
This week I am starting the classes on group projects. We haven't begun any of the actual work; this is going to be all preparation stuff. So yesterday was chaotic as they picked out their groups. They were supposed to answer some questions for group work guidelines after they formed groups. Today their task was to decide on a name and logo for their group.
Some anecdotes:
Yesterday, one of the girls in Class C said to me, "Ms. C, your outfit is phat." I pretended to be shocked, "You think I'm fat?!" Heh. Another one said, "No, phat, you know, banging." I said, "Let's keep the slang for outside of school, yeah?"
And today, those girls, as well as some girls in Class A, gave me another slangy compliment that I can't remember right now.
Also yesterday, when I was walking around writing down the groups that Class A was forming, this one boy goes, "Write down our group as R, Z, K, and Ms. C." Aw, cool, they want me in their group!
Later on, this kid, who is popular, but a pain, even though he can be sweet, came up to the front of the room> With an exaggerated pout, he crossed his arms and said plaintively, "Ms C, can you put me in a group? No one likes me." I had to seriously contort my face in order not to grin, and the class was watching and started laughing.
I kept that boy and another one into lunch for a few minutes, and said sternly, "Wait a minute. Before you go, I'm giving you a lecture." They looked at each other, sighed, and sat down. I began talking. One tried to pipe up with a question, and the other one shushed him, "She's lecturing us. You're not supposed to talk. Don't make it longer." "Oh right, this is a lecture." I looked at them for a second, and then totally lost it. I actually had to turn around so I could laugh quietly. I turned back to them, tried to get a straight face, then just laughed out loud for a few seconds. Finally, I said, "Okay. I am very stern." and proceeded with my lecture. "I expect that your group will be all A students tomorrow!" and so on. They nodded. (Their group did absolutely nothing today, of course.)
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Class A, today:
And today, both of those kids, as well as a couple other boys, popped into my room while I was ushering in another class, to say hi. One tries to give me a high five handshake thing that guys do. I just look at him and at his hand waiting in the air. He goes, all incredulous, "You're gonna leave me hangin like that?" I say, "Yep." That boy got something spilled on him during lunch. So when they came in right after lunch, he had to tell me about it like it was some emergency. I was all, "Yeah, that sucks, what do you want me to do about it?" And so later, his pants are around his ankles. (He had on black basketball shorts underneath, so it wasn't obscene or anything.) Not only while sitting at a desk, but also while standing up and walking around the room. What a weirdo. Sometimes I tell him that.
At another point, a girl came up to me and asked if she could be my friend, kind of pouty-like. I said, "what, you don't have any friends?" She gestured toward her group and was like, "no, they don't like me." I said something like, "Of course they do, go back to work." Then another girl right next to her goes, "Can I be your friend too? I have other friends but I like you too."
As I was walking around checking in with the groups, this boy randomly goes, "Ms C, you're really smart." Out of the blue. I said something like, "You will be too," and he goes, all hopeful, "Really?" I nodded and said, "if you listen to everything I have to teach you." He's a very sweet, if not extremely bright or attentive, student. He's in a group with three very good, smart girls, so I hope that the project helps him learn more.
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Class A is really out of control so far this week. Well, about two groups are, the rest are doing fine. But good lord, I think they like me! Or at least they like to play with me. I have fun with that, acting all aloof and like, "what are you doing?"
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Okay, so now I've effectively wasted another half-hour. Here I go, off to do some work! Wish me luck and much productivity!
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