Okay, so last year I was successful at the Slice of Life Challenge because I wrote all my posts the night before. Since I signed up late (yesterday, the first day of the challenge), I am already off schedule. So in an attempt to catch up, I’m going to post about something that happened yesterday right now, and then write a post tonight.
So, basically, my students were in fine form yesterday. I always get students who think coming to class even without reading or doing their homework is enough. Since I put my students in discussion groups, I usually make all the students who haven’t read sit separate from the groups and give them an opportunity to read. When I asked why they hadn’t read, they almost all said they didn’t have the book, which meant I had to lecture them AGAIN about how that’s not an excuse since the book is in the library, I have a copy, and their classmates have copies. Then I pointed out that they’re just putting themselves further and further behind because the activity we were doing was based on the reading AND that activity was preparing them for their test AND the test would prepare them for the paper, etc. Not to mention, we’re not going to slow down and wait for them to catch up.
Right, so, I let them take pictures of the pages we were reading, and this one kid couldn’t even do that. Why? Because his phone was dead.
Me: You are a mess.
Him: It was a rough morning.
THEN, in my second class, one student answered his phone IN THE MIDDLE OF CLASS. And we all just stared at him in horrified silence. He’s an older gentleman (probably older than my parents). So it wasn’t bad enough that he answered it but then he STARTED TALKING. Again with the horrified silence. So I commented how I noticed that older people are actually ruder with their phones, which most of my students agreed with. (I told them a story about my dad and how impossible he was when he first got his phone.) So I reminded them if they needed to answer a call to just step outside.
Also, for some reason, my students kept talking while I was teaching. Just…talking. When I was standing up there teaching. So, of course I gave them all of this right here:
Oh, which reminds me how on Wednesday when we were in the lab, I told my students not to type while I was talking. So, okay, sure, it was mostly one student I seemed to be addressing. But why then would you, other student, start typing right after I said that?
Right, but back to Thursday. So then, at the end of class, the people on the right (who came unprepared) all tried to leave WHILE I WAS TALKING. And we don’t have a bell, but I legit felt like a high school teacher, all:
So I don’t know what was going on with them yesterday, but I hope they get it together by next week.
The Englishist 
This post made me laugh. I especially love the Samuel L. Jackson meme. That is me all.day.long.
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As horrifying as it was to read this post, you added such funny memes I couldn’t help but laugh a little! I’m sorry you had such a rough day, those always stink.
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These are college students, right? So they are paying to come to class unprepared???? AKA wasting their (or their parents’ $$$)?!?! First year students, perhaps??? I remember those from my uni days. Most often gone (i.e. flunked out) by end of first semester or end of first year.
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Yep, mostly first year students.
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Oh. My. Goodness. True, I teach 8th graders, but I’ve never had one answer their phone in class (though they really, REALLY wanted too). I have to admit, I laughed, hard, at this post! Thank you for sharing your trials with us! 🙂
Happy Friday and happy slicing! 🙂
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Come on with these memes, I LOVE it 🙂 We are all there with you! Happy Friday
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Something happened
yesterday
that I wrote about
today but yesterday’s
words still linger
in the shadows of
tomorrow.
I’m aiming to twist
the calendar —
a mobius strip
of hours at this
keyboard —
to find the time
to write today
about tomorrow
in the hours of
the day gone past.
— Line-lifting (with some revision) to create poems in comments. Forgive me.
I can’t believe someone answered a phone in class? Wha? (Still, you got a story out of it, so you know .. perfect slice)
🙂
Kevin
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Kevin is a great line lifted and collaborator, Akilah. I guess you will just have to see what your students will bring to the table next week and hope it is a better week for you. I wrote about Kevin, @dogtrax, in my post today: http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2018/03/march-musings-2-march-roars.html (great meeting you)
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YES. Why would you do the thing that I just told your classmate not to do?! That right there… that’s life in my first and second grade classroom today! I laughed out loud (in solidarity, not in jest) when I read your post. Thank you for sharing your day, and nice work on pulling out today’s slice!
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I have a student who Facetimes with his girlfriend in class. It’s so mesmerizingly bizarre, but they aren’t really disruptive. They just kind of stare at each other! I hope she’s learning something about writing too!
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