Day 11 of 31 posts for the Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted by the team at Two Writing Teachers, Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, and Beth. Head over to the link up for seconds or to serve up your own slice!
My son is playing lacrosse for a local league team. A few middle school students from his school are also on the team and one of the Mom's asked me if I could take her son to practice with us. I love listening to kids talk on the back seat of the car. Sometimes they will say more to each other than they might share with at home. Today, I bring you a conversation from the back seat.
Yes. I did."
"She is so sarcastic! One day these two kids kept touching each other in class."
"Yeah?"
"So Mrs. -- said, "if you like each other so much boys, hold hands and go stand in the hallway."
"Ha! Did they do it?"
"They had to. She made them. Sometimes she is really mean."
"Hmm...she was nice to me but yeah, to some kids. What happened to them?"
"They were out there for a long time. I think she forgot!"
"Did you have Mrs. ---?"
"I did."
"Mrs. --- is so awesome. You can do anything in that class and she doesn't get you in trouble! She is like my favorite teacher."
So, there you have it. Teacher evaluation straight from the middle school student.
Re. Teacher #1: OMG! How horrible for those children. Unfathomable. It's hard not to be sarcastic sometimes, but we're better when we choose kind words, which I think can happen in lieu of sarcasm. My colleague Debbie (whom you met at NCTE) and I have had some interesting conversations about sarcasm in the classroom. I've been a bit testy of late w/ students (seniors) who skip, not just my class but all day. We have weak attendance policies and late work policies, but when I talk to these kids, I try to separate the behavior from the kid I adore, and they're all kids I care about deeply. I get evaluated by students in my Communication class and have to follow the university guidelines. I take their comments seriously and consider these evaluations the most important I've ever received.
ReplyDeleteYou're right... Overhearing middle school students is the way to get the real scoop. And this is a great writing idea. I'm going to pay attention next time I'm in school. Also, the first Mrs. --- is mean. And that seems like the type of thing you get put in the newspaper for.
ReplyDeleteI love eavesdroppoing!
ReplyDeleteI love eavesdroppoing!
ReplyDeleteI love eavesdroppoing!
ReplyDelete