HOLIDAY DAZE ... IT'S HOVERING
*Names have been changed to protect the innocent ... or not so innocent.
Every year, I'm amazed how quickly my students' behavior deteriorates the closer we get to the holidays. I think, because of the over-marketing that occurs each year and especially this year, my kids have decided to lose their minds earlier than usual.
That's the only way to explain Simon's* decision yesterday.
I am desperately trying to get reading levels on all of my kids before parent teacher conferences, which occur tomorrow, by the way. Yesterday, I gave them three tasks that would require them to work quietly -- that way I could work on the reading assessments.
I look up, at one point in the morning, to witness Simon, desk wide open, and his head ALL THE WAY in the desk. On further inspection, I discovered all contents of said desk were on the floor.
"SIMON! What are you doing?"
"Cleaning my desk," with a look of complete and total confusion as to why I could possibly be fussing at him for this.
"Where does CLEAN YOUR DESK fit into a list that starts with FINISH YOUR READING ASSIGNMENT and ends with WORK ON YOUR FEATURE ARTICLE!?!?"
He shrugs his shoulders. Considering he'd not finished either, he was powerless to come up with a good explanation for this.
So, I jam my finger toward the tab chart, and he dejectedly walks over to flip yet another tab.
Seriously!?!? The Holiday Daze has settled over my fourth grade classroom.
Every year, I'm amazed how quickly my students' behavior deteriorates the closer we get to the holidays. I think, because of the over-marketing that occurs each year and especially this year, my kids have decided to lose their minds earlier than usual.
That's the only way to explain Simon's* decision yesterday.
I am desperately trying to get reading levels on all of my kids before parent teacher conferences, which occur tomorrow, by the way. Yesterday, I gave them three tasks that would require them to work quietly -- that way I could work on the reading assessments.
I look up, at one point in the morning, to witness Simon, desk wide open, and his head ALL THE WAY in the desk. On further inspection, I discovered all contents of said desk were on the floor.
"SIMON! What are you doing?"
"Cleaning my desk," with a look of complete and total confusion as to why I could possibly be fussing at him for this.
"Where does CLEAN YOUR DESK fit into a list that starts with FINISH YOUR READING ASSIGNMENT and ends with WORK ON YOUR FEATURE ARTICLE!?!?"
He shrugs his shoulders. Considering he'd not finished either, he was powerless to come up with a good explanation for this.
So, I jam my finger toward the tab chart, and he dejectedly walks over to flip yet another tab.
Seriously!?!? The Holiday Daze has settled over my fourth grade classroom.
Comments
~2-E