Once again, a teacher is out. Once again, I am babysitting. The Principal is out sick as well. There are no substitutes available, so we shoulder the load. I know IT (Information Technologies) can't take them except 1st period (which he did.) HS (Health Services) is full most classes and not really able to take a rowdy Auto class. Carpentry is just unwilling. Welding is willing but full as well. That leaves me.
Yesterday, when I didn't blog, I had them all day. This was one of my 7:30 AM til 6 PM days. Every day this week is like that, except Friday (long, not filled with Auto students, I hope.) The morning two classes are the same students. That is the first two hours.
It went something like this:
I was in the office getting the roster for the class. When I arrived in my classroom, the tables had been moved to set up a table in the left corner to accommodate eight chairs. There were cards on the table and spoons. They intended to play a game called "Spoons". Spoons is a rowdy game where cards are passed around the table one at a time with each player trying to make 4 of a kind. The spoons are in the center of the table. There is one less spoon than there are players. When any of the players gets his 4 of a kind, he throws them down and grabs a spoon. The other players use this signal to begin grabbing a spoon. One player will be spoonless. He is eliminated. One spoon is removed and the game resumes.
It is a fun game. However, it is not the game for a classroom. It was played once before with the Welding students in my class. There was diving across the table and much noise.
I told them that we were not playing spoons. They opted for playing cards. Shortly, I looked up and there was money on the table. This was not going to work either. I could just see this situation unfolding. "J" comes home hungry. Mom asks why he is so hungry. "I didn't eat lunch." "Why?" "I lost my lunch money gambling in Mr. S's Electricity class." "What ???" The sound of a phone dialing. Yeah, not gonna work.
I told them to put the cards up. They could do homework, read a book, read a magazine, look at pictures in magazines, sleep, whatever, but they were not gonna play cards.
Several minutes later, after the cards were put up, I noticed three of the students kinda hunkered down a little. They were playing cards. I said something to them about being able to see them playing cards. They decided that they didn't have to put the cards away. No problem. I wrote them up for refusing to follow the directions given by a teacher. They became someone else's problem. One of the three went into the Principals office cussing. Not a good plan.
Anyway, the rest of the day was okay.
Then, this morning, Auto students were back. The cards came out. I told them to put them up. They did, but for the next 10 to 15 minutes, they would make comments like, "I have three kings," or "I'll take two cards," and such. Just trying to antagonize. This class makes me appreciate my mischievous class. My class is rowdy at times. They are mouthy at times. They are never, to my knowledge, malicious like this class. This class tried to cause troubles. They have a great future ahead of them at some penal facility.
Then there was the "N" word situation today ... More on that later
Yesterday, when I didn't blog, I had them all day. This was one of my 7:30 AM til 6 PM days. Every day this week is like that, except Friday (long, not filled with Auto students, I hope.) The morning two classes are the same students. That is the first two hours.
It went something like this:
I was in the office getting the roster for the class. When I arrived in my classroom, the tables had been moved to set up a table in the left corner to accommodate eight chairs. There were cards on the table and spoons. They intended to play a game called "Spoons". Spoons is a rowdy game where cards are passed around the table one at a time with each player trying to make 4 of a kind. The spoons are in the center of the table. There is one less spoon than there are players. When any of the players gets his 4 of a kind, he throws them down and grabs a spoon. The other players use this signal to begin grabbing a spoon. One player will be spoonless. He is eliminated. One spoon is removed and the game resumes.
It is a fun game. However, it is not the game for a classroom. It was played once before with the Welding students in my class. There was diving across the table and much noise.
I told them that we were not playing spoons. They opted for playing cards. Shortly, I looked up and there was money on the table. This was not going to work either. I could just see this situation unfolding. "J" comes home hungry. Mom asks why he is so hungry. "I didn't eat lunch." "Why?" "I lost my lunch money gambling in Mr. S's Electricity class." "What ???" The sound of a phone dialing. Yeah, not gonna work.
I told them to put the cards up. They could do homework, read a book, read a magazine, look at pictures in magazines, sleep, whatever, but they were not gonna play cards.
Several minutes later, after the cards were put up, I noticed three of the students kinda hunkered down a little. They were playing cards. I said something to them about being able to see them playing cards. They decided that they didn't have to put the cards away. No problem. I wrote them up for refusing to follow the directions given by a teacher. They became someone else's problem. One of the three went into the Principals office cussing. Not a good plan.
Anyway, the rest of the day was okay.
Then, this morning, Auto students were back. The cards came out. I told them to put them up. They did, but for the next 10 to 15 minutes, they would make comments like, "I have three kings," or "I'll take two cards," and such. Just trying to antagonize. This class makes me appreciate my mischievous class. My class is rowdy at times. They are mouthy at times. They are never, to my knowledge, malicious like this class. This class tried to cause troubles. They have a great future ahead of them at some penal facility.
Then there was the "N" word situation today ... More on that later
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