17 May 2007

Geniuses!

Oh man, my 7th graders were being such geniuses today! First of all, they completely won me over yesterday when they begged me to switch the schedule so they could finish the book today, because they're so excited about it. THEN today, as we were finishing the book, they kept noticing brilliant metaphors and making incredible connections and just being so awesome and smart! It made me love teaching all over again.

Also, my 8th graders and I couldn't stop laughing about To Kill A Mockingbird today, and were trying to figure out how someone could be "double first cousins" and they're mad because Tom Robinson was found guilty and they want to sue Harper Lee for making it so unfair in her book.



Sometimes I like them. So much.



Also, teachers, isn't it SO GREAT when you have such a tight class that you have inside jokes as a class? That's so fun!


*


Today my 8th graders suggested anger management classes for me. It had something to do with this:


Kaleb: Ms. Backes, can I finish this test tomorrow?
Me: I don't know....
Kaleb: Please! I still have a lot to do.
Me: (looking at the test) What? You only answered the first section? You didn't even try on the second part!
Kaleb: I was working really hard!
Me: No you weren't, you were staring at the ceiling and playing with the rubber on your shoe the whole time.
Kaleb: No, I was working!
Me: Whatever...!
Kaleb: Really, I was working hard!
Me: Shut up! You were not.
Juan: Did you just tell him to shut up, Miss? Gosh, all you ever do is swear at us!
Me: That's not true....
Juan: "Get the hell out of my room"... "give me the damn umbrella.."
Kaleb: Yeah, you need anger management!





I like that they persistently bring me down to their level.