Class Warfare

With three weeks of school left, it is getting harder and harder to motivate my kids to keep working. Of course, it is also harder and harder to motivate MYSELF to keep working ...

Today, my first period class had a test on Chapter 18: Debate. After the test, they were to do their Chapter 19 vocabulary. I'm not gonna lie; Ch. 19 is a cuss. It's about parliamentary procedure, which is difficult enough in itself, and there are 47 vocab words. Naturally, that did not go down so well with my students. There was enough whining and crying that you'd think I HADN'T given them the ENTIRE REST OF THE PERIOD to work on it.

One kid had the audacity to say, "Do we really have to do this, Ms. Flower? It's soooooo much work!"

I said, "Would you like to have a debate? Do you think you could argue this effectively?"

Student: "Yeah!" Like she was totally going to write a brief right then.

Me: "Let's fast forward into the future five minutes: I WIN. Do your work." That is my kind of debate.

There's some kind of fundraiser going on where the kids buy a piece of construction paper and write their favorite teacher's name on it and hang it on the wall outside the cafeteria. I was just passing by the wall today, on my way to lunch, and I saw my name, sort of: Mrs. Flower.

Well, I am touched. Really. Some kid loves me enough to
1)Spend a dollar to tell the world, and
2)Apparently, randomly marry me off to my brother/uncle/cousin.
It just warms the heart.

My third period class has finally gotten their butts into gear and started working. I think it's a little bit funny how the rest of my classes are winding down, having done the majority of their work at the beginning of the quarter, and this one is just NOW revving up. Maybe they are going on the premise that I will only remember the last three weeks of school and will therefore be kinder when I am grading them, instead of remembering the heartache and misery of the previous 30-odd weeks.

Tomorrow is the last day for my seniors. I only have four, but they packed a wallop. I think my day might be a little less interesting without them. I hope they make it out there.