Everything Works Better as a Contest

*I ask a question*

Students are oddly unresponsive....just sitting there...absorbed in picking at their eraser, or thinking about trucks, or whatever it is that 12 year olds do.

me: "hmm...okay, let's make it a contest!"

*ALL HANDS SHOOT UP WILDLY*


Well, that worked.

Right Up There with Technology

Stanley, 11 years old: "The seniors are lucky because they get to graduate."

me: "aw, do you already not like school in 6th grade?"

Stanley: "No....I like school.........there's technooology.......and youuuu.......and P.E.........and scienceeeee."

One-Way Conversations

Yesterday after school, I'm just standing at the front desk, waiting to sign something, when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see Gerald, 12 years old, a good 9 inches taller than me.

me: "Oh hey, Gerald. How's it going?"

Gerald: *3 second long blank stare*

me: "Are you feeling better?" (Gerald was struggling with a cold that morning)

Gerald: *5 second long blank stare*
*walks away*

me: "Gerald!!! You can't just WALK AWAY mid-conversation! Come back!"

Gerald: "Oh. ... I thought we were done."


Oh boy.