One of those moments…

Some people think I’m crazy because I voluntarily do lunch duty quite often.  I originally got in the habit when I taught at a school with a severely fractured faculty and I simply got tired of eating lunch in the middle of a battle zone.  Since then I have parlayed this habit into a whole bunch of perks, one of which is getting to know my students in a more relaxed atmosphere.

The other day one of my students from last year called me over to the table he and his friends were eating at to ask me a question.  I don’t remember the question, but after I answered it another student commented that she didn’t understand why she now had to learn how to measure angles in Radians, rather than just continuing to use the old 360° in a circle system.  I sat down and started to explain how 360 is an arbitrary number that someone just made up, but since the circumference of a circle is naturally 2πr, then (using a radius of 1) 2π is a natural measurement around a circle.

Details aside, this sparked a 10 minute conversation where the five of us discussed the benefits of a natural method of measuring angles versus the old random one.

There was not going to be a test on it.   They were free to get up and leave at any time, or even to ask me to leave.  Yet they were interested, engaged, curious and appreciative of my time.  And this wasn’t even your standard Math-nerd group, one of them is this year’s 9^th grade district wrestling champion.

Like the title says:  that was one of those moments.

Levitation

In my keyboarding class, I have a 7^th grade girl who is in a wheelchair.  In the first three weeks of school she had said about 4 words, and that was only when I checked to make sure she didn’t need the desk raised up so she could get to the keyboard.

Yesterday, she walked (yes, walked) up to me at lunch and asked “Am I in your class?”  Not yet completely familiar with my students, no name came right to mind, but I was sure she was in one of my classes, so I said yes.  “Do you remember my name?”   She waited a second as I searched for a name and then pointed to the legs she was standing on and asked “Notice something different?”

I would have loved to see the look on my face as it dawned on me who she was, and in complete awe I looked at her and said her name.

“No, but I’m her twin sister.” Bada-bim, bada-boom.  They reeled me in like a professional angler landing a 300lb yellowfin tuna.

I said something about it to the real her in class later that day, and now she comes into the class smiling and has talked to me more in the last 2 class periods than the 3 weeks before.  Definitely worth the half dozen kids that saw that really stupid look on my face when I had no clue what to say.

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My 2 Tech students asked to borrow my camera and tripod the other day.  I asked them what they needed it for and they simply told me they would show me afterwards.  They’re not the kind of kids to do something inappropriate, and I know I can trust them with my camera, so I said ok.  Here’s what they came back with.  (These are not photoshopped, other than the frame, the blurred faces and the copyright, they are exactly as I took them off the camera.)

Stupid is as stupid does.

Life lesson #5A-627B, subsection iii:

When you are called before a judge, for whatever reason, do not wear sagging pants that show your boxers.

Life lesson #5A-627B, subsection iv:

When the previously mentioned judge asks you to pull up those sagging pants, don’t tell her to “F”-off.

We got a 14 day reprieve from one of our more disruptive and disrespectful students because he chose to ignore those life lessons.

The Dating Game, Jr. High Style.

… I’m going to start ending my 2B class like this:

… With the Dating Game goodbye kiss.  ‘Cause I swear, I’m running the Schmeisenhower dating game class. 

… In the last two weeks I confiscated the two notes at the end of this post.  Both were different guys asking out different girls in the class.  The first one is an I want to go out with you but my best friend thought you were going to ask her and I don’t want to make her mad type of conversation.  The second one makes me kind of sad.  She is trying real hard to say NO as nicely as possible, and he’s not getting the hint at all.  I’ve eliminated any names, but go ahead and read them if you want to take a trip back to junior high.

… And if this keeps up, I’m going to start charging Matchmaker fees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… Click on them to see full sized version.

Uh, that's not what I meant...

I'm sitting in my classroom about 20 minutes into 1st period (my STS period so no kids). One of my students wanders in and of course I start to give him crap for being late. He decides to blame me for being late, 'cause after all everything is my fault.

• ME: It's not my job to wake you up every morning.
• HIM: Yes it is.
• ME: Hey, I'm not your mother.
• HIM: You look like her.
• ME: I don't know if that's more of an insult to me or to you.
• HIM: (trying to deflect the burn back on his mother) Hey, I'm not the one who LOOKS like a man.

Yeah, I'm still giving him crap about that.

And let the games begin......

It's been kind of surrealistic the last couple of days, classes up at the "U" started for me this Wednesday. I'm a college student again. That means classes, where I'm not the leader, assignments, that I have to do-not correct, mid-terms, finals and grades. It also means that I get to ride Trax & the busses for free. Cool. Got my student ID today, and all I had to do was ask for the UTA pass and they gave it to me. No, not because I'm just the darn nicest guy on the planet - they give it to any U student. There's a Trax station near school (on 33rd) and one right by the Ed building, so it'll be pretty convienent. Nikita4773, who is in the program with me, works just down the street so we can make the ride together. Fun stuff, but I'm gonna be a little busy the next 9 months - school, where I teach, starts Monday. So, Monday and Tuesday it will be : teach all day, Chevron from 4 to 9 that night. Wed & Thu : teach all day, college 5 to 8 that night. Fridays only teach and Sat & Sun are for catching up on sleep and doing homework, cleaning house and laundry. Social life? Nah, but at least now I have an excuse........