Category Archives: homework

Actual transcript of a conversation that perfectly illustrates everything wonderful and frustrating about working with 6th graders:

Posted on by tattooteacher

Actual transcript of a conversation that perfectly illustrates everything wonderful and frustrating about working with 6th graders:

Scene: Me, with muffin in hand, walking over to check on a student’s homework.

Student: Is that a muffin? I thought you were trying to eat less sugar.

Me: I am, but it’s just a muffin.

Student: I bet it has a LOT of sugar.

Me: I’m not going to worry too much.

Student: You should worry. Sugar is not good for you, I know because YOU told us.*

(*In a lesson on nutrition that we’re required to teach as part of a wellness program)

Me: How about I don’t tell you how to live your life, and you don’t tell me how to live mine.

Student, increasingly shrill and outraged: You tell me how to live my life ALL THE TIME! Every day. It’s LITERALLY your job to tell me how to live my life. You get paid to do it!

Me, increasingly defeated: Well you’re not being paid to tell me how to live my life.

Student, even shriller and more outraged: Well, I’m doing it pro bono, which is a word I know because YOU told me it. I’m doing it out of love, did you ever think about that? Because I CARE about you.

Me: That’s… actually really nice. I promise I’m eating mostly healthy, I appreciate you worrying about me. Now, do you have your homework.

Student: What homework? You NEVER told me we had homework.

Scene

 

 

Chicken Mysteries

Posted on by tattooteacher

On Friday I was checking in homework packets. Kids sometimes write notes to me on the cover sheet. Things like, “I had trouble on the math, can we go over it together?” Or “My mom helped me with the spelling.” Or “I hated that article about whales. You should never assign it again.”

When I noticed writing on one student’s cover sheet, I assumed it was for me. Then I read it. It said “Why chicken on the median.” Then below it, in all capitals NEKCIHC. Which, you may have noticed, is chicken backwards.

Was it a code? Did the chicken stand for something? Was it about math? We had been studying median and other data points. Was it a joke? Median like median strip? Some veiled reference to a chicken crossing the road?

Hoping to clear this up, I called the student in question over. Before I could say anything, he saw the writing, snatched the packet off my desk, and said under his breath “Oh, not again.” Then he looked up at me. “This… this isn’t important. Don’t worry about it.” “What is it?” I asked. I wanted to know. “It’s not for you.” He said solemnly.

Things got even weirder when he went back to his seat. He leaned over to another student and said, quietly but loud enough for me to hear “We have to be more careful.”

I am now obsessed with finding out what the heck this is about.