Does it work with students the way it works with relationships? Can you go to bed angry and then when there is calm at the beginning of class bring up the shite again? Because that's what I intend on doing.
The seniors cheated today on a small assignment. They just had to bring an example of an editorial to class for 5 points, but instead they shared someone's magazine and ripped out the "editorials" right in front of me. I didn't really know what to do with it. The teacher observing my class today pointed out the other cheaters to me after they left. I was irrate. I said fuck a couple of times, then fucking goddamn. I tried to figure out what I was most angry at:
1) the fact that they insulted me by blatantly cheating in front of me, asking for passes to the bathroom (which I gave them) just so they could go and cheat;
2) the fact that they thought that this was okay behavior--as in, who told you that it was okay to cheat on your homework, and is this something you'll just take right on with you to college? Are you the kid who buys his paper off the internet? because it's just so upsetting to see that the "good" kids in class have no qualms about obvious cheating--REALLY? YOU SEE NO PROBLEMS WITH THIS AT ALL? because that's frightening for the future;
3) the fact that I just didn't call them out on it right away but played just a bit naive because I didn't want to confront the situation; or
4) the fact that nobody in that class (save for a few) really gets school, that I get frustrated that I have to remind students that I don't just give homework to grade them, that they are supposed to take pride in the learning process and be happy to learn things, not to ask are we going to have to hand this in? so they can decide whether to really try on it (you know, try by figuring out what I "want" and then giving it to me) or to half ass it and not really learn a thing.
Why can't they just be excited to learn things. Why can't they realize how awesome it is to know. Why can't they realize that their brains are muscles, and that the more they continue to half-ass their workouts, walk those two miles instead of run, let the treadmill run and tally miles while they stand with their feet on the side while text messaging a bunch of drama-nobody-cares-bullshit, that it's going to be all the more difficult when they realize they can't make it up the real goddamned hill.
***
At the end of a driveway in Albertville I saw two things: (1) a small-framed, white aluminum baby bed with a cheap, plastic foam mattress, and (2) a rusted grill.
Grillin' babies? The ol' burger and bed?
I don't know. But you short story writers (Chelle, you said you were all about the fiction this semester?)--well, you short story writers could do something with that.
Same shit, different outfit.
2 comments:
Oh man, I don’t know... Whenever I attempt fiction, I just write about dead deer. Grilling babies? Hmm, have you read The Road? Book scared me. Scared me to shivers, it did.
Your post makes me think that somehow, someway—like some kind of time warp—your seniors are my freshmen. It’s not so much that my students are cheating, but they have this sneaky air about them. There’s a bit of cunning there. A small part of me admires it, but only because I never had it.
Hey, what if we are in some time warp? Maybe northern MN and Lincoln are linked by some worm hole dealie. Heck if I know. The most physics I had were two hours spent watching Donnie Darko. Jake G. is so dreamy.
Nifty metaphor!
You should have taken a picture of that and used it for an illustration next time you teach A Modest Proposal.
Ooh! Even better! Class assignment: photography to represent a story you read. Everyone gets to pick a story and then has to create (or look for a found scene - you get to make up the details) a scene that epitomizes some aspect of the story. NEAT.
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