Arrrrrrghhhhhhhh! Man! I hate 6th grade technology class sometimes! The 6th grade team at my school treats these kids like they were made of gold. No real due dates, well, maybe a week after the original due date...no tardies, very few consequences for behavior. They inflate grades, no one ever gets lower than a C in Math. Do they not realize how hard they make it on the teachers these kids have in 7th and 8th grade? What a disservice they do to the kids who think they can skate and miss school and then be helped out to repair their grades?
Today... keyboard maps are due, it's keyboard test day. I must have had six kids tell me they just weren't ready yet, to turn in the work we've been doing together in class for the past week. Kids telling me "I didn't know!" But they were here all week. One gem telling me that he was in Mexico on vacation, and all his other teachers let him have extra time. Extra time for an unexcused absence? What's the deal here? And we wonder why Mr. Bush makes fun of Marin County. Blah. Caught one little girl, an A student, hiding a crib sheet in her jacket. She was caught, plain and simple. She swears, "I wasn't going to cheat! I wouldn't do that!" She cries. I turn in the crib sheet to the office and tell the vice principal what's up, forehead on his desk, asking if I can go home now. Makes me feel like a royal bitch. But there are edges in life, kids need to know how to find them, and to deal with them. Isn't that part of my job?
First period is over. I'm waiting for the next class. Happy Friday.