March 1st

I'm up and running again, doing on-call work.  I may be back to this grind for another month or so and then I hope to move on to bigger and (much) better things.

Seventh grade math - I was worried.  I don't like getting middle school calls because the coordinator doesn't tell you the grade.  You just go to the middle school in question and check in, at which point the secretary tells you where to go.  This builds the tension until you get the placement you don't really want (7th graders!).

It is always when I expect the classes to be really terrible that they pull themselves together and act appropriately.  I'm starting to wonder if my demeanor is somehow different when I think kids are going to act up.  At any rate, every single period went by smoothly and with nothing to report!  This would be a short post if it weren't for the last period of the day.

Granted, the kids just ate lunch and there is only one more period to get through before dismissal.  However, sometimes kids are just stupid.  A few girls came in before lunch to put their stuff down before lunch and they started to go for their assigned seats, saw me, then giggled and put their stuff in the back few desks.  Do they think I'm an idiot?  Then the kids start coming in after lunch and their seats have these girl's books on them and they look confused, glance around the room, see me, I can see them processing the thought, then they quietly choose a different desk.  Again, am I an idiot?

So I said, "I know you aren't sitting in your assigned seats so please move to the correct seats."  I said this in a polite tone, not mad yet.  No one moved.  No one said anything.

So I said, more sternly this time, "Ok.  So I'll say it again.  I know, for a fact, that you aren't in your assigned seats.  Please move now."  No one blinked an eye.

So, finally, in my teacher-stern-I-take-no-shit voice, "This is your last chance.  You are choosing a path.  You are forcing me to act the part of a mean strict substitute.  If you move to your assigned seats we can move on with class and I can remain a friendly teacher."  Again, no one moves.

So now I'm mad.  I went through the attendance sheet and made the kids move to seats in alphabetical order.  No talking was allowed.  They had to complete their work quietly and then do homework.  Unfortunately, they didn't respond well to being quiet but I was checked out by this point so I didn't bother correcting them.  I ended up getting a wicked bad headache and lying in bed for a few hours with a pounding in my brain.  Gosh darn kids.