Friday, May 11, 2007

A Teacher Detached

Lowered standards? New perspectives? A war veteran's tolerance for traumatic experience?

How else can I explain the matter-of-fact comments that I enter in my book labeled "Student Contact Info", which is really a notebook in which I catalog student (mis)behaviors to justify points docked or earned on their daily process grades. Sometimes I cannot believe what I am writing - what I am willing to accept to get a student to create art. A sample, DM, 4th period, 5/11:

"Used excessive profanity and pulled pants down to expose his behind, but was otherwise on-task and respectful"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"pulled pants down to expose his behind, but was otherwise on-task"

I think I want this on my tombstone.

Sweathog said...

I actually had a similar experience while observing at Northern High in Durham. The class was out of control, and a kid plastered his bare butt up against the window for everybody eating lunch out in the courtyard to see. I honestly looked straight down and pretended like I was writing in my journal.
As my supervising teacher walked to the file cabinet for the office referrals, I remember she yelled: "That's it, buddy! Acting out is one thing, but when you start Shooting the Moon, there's gonna be consequences!"