Day 105: Men of Honor
Students will be able to analyze a text for main idea, details, author purpose, perspective, argument, and evidence.
I'm seriously contemplating letting the students use their study guides that we filled out yesterday and today on their test on Tuesday, and just making the test harder. I won't tell them, though I will HIGHLY EMPHASIZE the fact that they must hang onto it. Those that don't have it, don't get to use it. Of course, by sixth or seventh period everyone will know and will have theirs, or use their friend's from an earlier period UNLESS I make them turn in the study guide with their test...yes, that's what I'll do.
Speaking of cheating, the young man who I turned in yesterday to his chemistry teacher flipped out on me today during class. He informed me I was no longer the best teacher in the world or his favorite teacher. He feels like I betrayed him by tattling to the chemistry teacher. I spoke with his chem teacher earlier today, and I know for a fact that she wasn't hard on him. Instead, she expressed frustration that he didn't decide to come to tutorials until the last week of the grading period, and asked him how he was possibly improving his grade when she gives zeroes to cheating. Second period had a lengthy discussion in class about why students cheat (most of the room 'fessed up to doing it a few times), and what this shows about themselves as students and as people of character. I'm pretty certain that the young man in question didn't hear a word I said; he kept blurting angry things all during class. I think he felt picked on when he knew everyone else copied answers too. I think what made me so sad is that he wasn't upset that he broke a rule, only that he was caught. I tried to emphasize less on the "You're not learning anything" aspect (most just don't care) and more on the integrity aspect.
I repeated what I am mentally calling my "Men of Honor" discussion with a group of my unruly boys in a later class. They want to be successful, wealthy, and have a hot wife someday, but I'm still pretty sure they also crave being respected and admired. I've had many discussions on this topic with my husband in the context of being a spiritual head of household, and it's hard to keep my discussion away from my Biblical background in my public school setting. However, I think my 16-year-old students are right on the cusp of manhood, and I want to do my best to push them in the direction of the men I think they can be. They are good kids; I don't think I have a single "mean" students. Even the ones I was unsure of earlier in the year have matured a lot in six months. I'm proud of them.
I got invited to eat lunch in the cafeteria today by a group of girls who keep leaving heart post-it notes on my desk. They're really into the cup game right now, and were shocked I knew how to play it. I'm pretty sure that game has been along far longer than I've been alive. It makes me wonder how many "new fads" we practiced weren't new at all. Quite possibly our parents secretly played Pokemon back in the late 1960s, and just never told us because they realized how lame it all turned out to be and wanted to save us the heartache and lost allowance savings.
I'm seriously contemplating letting the students use their study guides that we filled out yesterday and today on their test on Tuesday, and just making the test harder. I won't tell them, though I will HIGHLY EMPHASIZE the fact that they must hang onto it. Those that don't have it, don't get to use it. Of course, by sixth or seventh period everyone will know and will have theirs, or use their friend's from an earlier period UNLESS I make them turn in the study guide with their test...yes, that's what I'll do.
Speaking of cheating, the young man who I turned in yesterday to his chemistry teacher flipped out on me today during class. He informed me I was no longer the best teacher in the world or his favorite teacher. He feels like I betrayed him by tattling to the chemistry teacher. I spoke with his chem teacher earlier today, and I know for a fact that she wasn't hard on him. Instead, she expressed frustration that he didn't decide to come to tutorials until the last week of the grading period, and asked him how he was possibly improving his grade when she gives zeroes to cheating. Second period had a lengthy discussion in class about why students cheat (most of the room 'fessed up to doing it a few times), and what this shows about themselves as students and as people of character. I'm pretty certain that the young man in question didn't hear a word I said; he kept blurting angry things all during class. I think he felt picked on when he knew everyone else copied answers too. I think what made me so sad is that he wasn't upset that he broke a rule, only that he was caught. I tried to emphasize less on the "You're not learning anything" aspect (most just don't care) and more on the integrity aspect.
I repeated what I am mentally calling my "Men of Honor" discussion with a group of my unruly boys in a later class. They want to be successful, wealthy, and have a hot wife someday, but I'm still pretty sure they also crave being respected and admired. I've had many discussions on this topic with my husband in the context of being a spiritual head of household, and it's hard to keep my discussion away from my Biblical background in my public school setting. However, I think my 16-year-old students are right on the cusp of manhood, and I want to do my best to push them in the direction of the men I think they can be. They are good kids; I don't think I have a single "mean" students. Even the ones I was unsure of earlier in the year have matured a lot in six months. I'm proud of them.
I got invited to eat lunch in the cafeteria today by a group of girls who keep leaving heart post-it notes on my desk. They're really into the cup game right now, and were shocked I knew how to play it. I'm pretty sure that game has been along far longer than I've been alive. It makes me wonder how many "new fads" we practiced weren't new at all. Quite possibly our parents secretly played Pokemon back in the late 1960s, and just never told us because they realized how lame it all turned out to be and wanted to save us the heartache and lost allowance savings.
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