Snow Fest

I used to hate the first few days of class where I didn’t know any students’ names and they didn’t know how to take me or what to think.

Now I’ve changed my mind. Over the years, I’ve decided that I like these first few days of classes the best. Yes, I only know a fraction of my students and they aren’t sure what to make either of my class or me.

However, I like not knowing, yet, who is apathetic or who flunked last quarter and is taking this class for the second time or who never hands in their assignments. Everyone still has that nice clean slate so to speak.

I wish I could keep it that way.

Of course, I do look forward to seeing my strong writers emerge, my struggling writers make progress, and getting to know all of them. But I must say that I enjoy looking at them and their work with a fresh set of eyes, rather than eyes tainted by disappointment and frustration, which will come in about three weeks.

*****

So far so good with my third block College Comp class. On the first day of class, I handed out the six page syllabus and the novels list hoping to scare a few into dropping (I end up having several who take it for non-college credit, which usually means they treat it like a normal, non-college class, which means they usually add very little to the class and end up doing poorly). What did this class do instead? First, I gave them time to search the internet for information on the books that look interesting to them. Then, they asked if they could go to the library and check them out.

I’m not kidding.

They came back with their books and were eager for more.

I about damn near fell over.

I’m not kidding.

So far so good. They are down watching the unicycle raise for snowfest as I type this. I look at their desks and see not only the course textbook but also their novels.

I’m not kidding.

This should be fun.

*****

My final class, Lit and Language 11, is a completely different story. I have 33 kids in it. My classroom is designed for about 22.

So far they are the total opposite of the previous L&L 11 class. I could turn them lose to work and I would feel confident in knowing that 60-70 percent of the class was working hard.

The numbers are the opposite for this class. One of the things that worked well last semester was when I gave the class a scavenger hunt or comiclife assignment to complete in the computer lab. But since we have about 22 working computers in there, I can’t do that with this class.

So what have I resorted to? I’m back to teaching like I did my first year (and that isn’t a good thing). It means this class is going to be the traditional lecture, notes, and read, and quiz/test format. What else can I do?

With this class’s personality, if I give them any time to work, they piss it away visiting. I’m not going to go nuts trying to keep 33 damn kids on task – not when there is another L&L 11 class with about 18 kids in it. I know some won’t fit in there because of their schedules, but did they have to load 33 kids into one class?

So I’m busy typing up notes and researching things like I haven’t done since my rookie year, but that’s fine. The students will fall into a rut and so will I. But that stinks. But that is public education for you.

Fall in line! Get those pencils ready! Today we take notes on plot and character. Then I’ll have them work a little on a reading assignment (no more than 20 minutes remember) about the Salem witch trials.

*****

Not to jinx it, but my junior class is actually working. Quietly.

*****

The Snowfest games in the gym went over pretty well. It was the most school spirit I had seen in quite some time. Of course, you always have the jack ass factor. Especially at the high school level. Sometimes when you walk in to school, you can just look around and see that some kids just don’t have a damn chance. Maybe it’s because their parents are drunks, molestors, or abusers. Maybe it’s because the kids themselves just don’t give a rat’s ass. Maybe it’s a combination. Maybe some are just wired all wrong.

I don’t know. But just walk down a hallway in a large school sometime and you’ll see what I mean.

Here’s an example. My task during the activity was to count the number of juniors who were wearing white (each class was assigned a color and earned points for dressing up in that color). Then the games began. Kids were cheering (the high point had to be the ping pong tournament. I haven’t heard kids cheer like that at any Pep Fest ever – and that includes trips to state by the football, hockey, wrestling, tennis, and swimmers) and getting into it.

Then I happened to notice, out of the corner of my eye, a water bottle fly up from one of the exits into the upper student section. Apparently, it struck a student near the eye. She was bawling. One of the teachers in charge of that area came down looking for witnesses. I told her what I knew and we walked over to the exit. One of my former students saw us there and told us the name of the student who chucked it. Of course, the name was synonymous with shithead. Big surprise.

After that I decided to stand down by the other exit. That was when a colleague came up to me and told me that she caught some students (also synonymous with shitheads) who, rather than partake in the activities with everyone else) actually hanging from the very nice and very expensive new lighting fixture in our main entrance (which has undergone a major renovation). Apparently, their hackies (a nearly sure fire sign for the aforementioned crapheads, along with a bong pipe and chains) were caught in the light and one had been hoisted on top of the shoulders of another and he was dangling from the light fixture when my colleague came across them.

But you can’t let a few ruin the best Snow fest games in quite some time.

It just saddens me to know that some of our kids just don’t have a damn chance. Most do. In fact, I have just been inundated with requests for letters of recommendations for many students who will do amazingly well.

But so many just are lost.

Every morning I try to listen to a podcast devoted to some aspect of education or teaching. This morning I tuned in to a discussion at Stanford about admission policies and how universities are just looking for 4.0 students. Then one of the presenters stated Stanford’s original mission statement concerning creating educated citizens who would not only take part in but lead their communities while also becoming leaders in their respective fields.

But so many are lost before they even get that chance.