They Say the Darned-est Things. . .
No matter how naughty they can be, they always manage to bring a smile to your face. Some cute things my students (grade 8 level) have said in the past few weeks:
The Titanic Game - you must choose 5 people (jobs like policeman, doctor, singer, etc.) you would save if the Titanic was sinking and state why you would save them. These 5 people will be on an island together so they have to say who the best people to take would be.
"I would choose the model because she doesn't eat much."
"I would choose the writer because he can write S.O.S."
"I would choose the singer because he can yell for help."
"I would choose the model because she will make the other four men very happy on the island. And then she can swim away."
Student: "I would choose the cook and 4 people."
Me: "OK, but you have to say who the other 4 people are. What jobs do they have?"
Student: "No, just the cook and 4 people. No food!"
Me: ???
Student: "No food!"
Me: ???
Student: "The cook cooks the people. No food!"
Me: "Oh. . . " I then proceed to write "cannibal" on the black board. One of the more inventive answers that I got. . .
Every class: "Superman!!"
Another day I came to class and one of my students came up to me and pointed at his newly-buzzed hair and asked me if I thought he looked like a prisoner. He promised me if I shaved my head as well we could be prisoners together.
Once I was asking my students a bunch of conditional questions (ie. "If you won a million dollars, what would you buy?"):
Me: "If you met Michael Jackson, what would you say to him?"
Student: "You are not a man. You are not a woman. I hate you."
Me: "If you won a million dollars, what would you buy?"
(Male) Student: "A woman."
I'm gonna miss these kids! It's wonderful having 700 faces smiling at you every week, although I wish the classes could be smaller than 50-60 students so I could have gotten to know them better and could have felt that my lessons were more effectual. There are some really talented students in my classes who genuinely want to learn and I only wish I could have done more for them. In the same breath I wish I could have been better at sparking an interest in those students at the opposite end of the spectrum - those ones who come across as sullen and uninterested or else just completely shy and self-conscious. It's certainly been a challenge this past year and I still feel that I have a lot to learn about being an effective teacher. Hopefully the next time I teach a group of students they will (a) not exceed 30 in number and (b) speak the same language as I do!
The Titanic Game - you must choose 5 people (jobs like policeman, doctor, singer, etc.) you would save if the Titanic was sinking and state why you would save them. These 5 people will be on an island together so they have to say who the best people to take would be.
"I would choose the model because she doesn't eat much."
"I would choose the writer because he can write S.O.S."
"I would choose the singer because he can yell for help."
"I would choose the model because she will make the other four men very happy on the island. And then she can swim away."
Student: "I would choose the cook and 4 people."
Me: "OK, but you have to say who the other 4 people are. What jobs do they have?"
Student: "No, just the cook and 4 people. No food!"
Me: ???
Student: "No food!"
Me: ???
Student: "The cook cooks the people. No food!"
Me: "Oh. . . " I then proceed to write "cannibal" on the black board. One of the more inventive answers that I got. . .
Every class: "Superman!!"
Another day I came to class and one of my students came up to me and pointed at his newly-buzzed hair and asked me if I thought he looked like a prisoner. He promised me if I shaved my head as well we could be prisoners together.
Once I was asking my students a bunch of conditional questions (ie. "If you won a million dollars, what would you buy?"):
Me: "If you met Michael Jackson, what would you say to him?"
Student: "You are not a man. You are not a woman. I hate you."
Me: "If you won a million dollars, what would you buy?"
(Male) Student: "A woman."
I'm gonna miss these kids! It's wonderful having 700 faces smiling at you every week, although I wish the classes could be smaller than 50-60 students so I could have gotten to know them better and could have felt that my lessons were more effectual. There are some really talented students in my classes who genuinely want to learn and I only wish I could have done more for them. In the same breath I wish I could have been better at sparking an interest in those students at the opposite end of the spectrum - those ones who come across as sullen and uninterested or else just completely shy and self-conscious. It's certainly been a challenge this past year and I still feel that I have a lot to learn about being an effective teacher. Hopefully the next time I teach a group of students they will (a) not exceed 30 in number and (b) speak the same language as I do!
posted by MJD at 5:37 p.m.
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