Oh, the potential for rants today. Where shall I go today? I could talk about the school wide epidemic with the children, resulting in simultaneous brain farts from one end of the campus to the other. Or I could talk about how as a result, teachers are getting extremely catty and nagging. I could talk about how we are becoming more and more complacent, accepting the "bare minimums." I could update you all on the coming and goings of KIS. Or Bill. Maybe about field trip madness, the countdown till payday, or my regular escapades with suggesting change, and getting a "talking to." The posibilities and combinations are endless. Or I could just leave all this alone and go play XBOX 360 instead of stressing about standardized testing that happens this week. I will play XBOX. But first I will pick a rant at random...
And so brain farts it is. What exactly is a brain fart? Well, those are the moments when you have a conversation with your lovely students, not even a new conversation. I mean a conversation that at this point should be memorized cause it has come up so much in so many different ways and instances. It goes sort of like this. Teacher makes a general statement that most kids in class seem to accept. Other students give examples of said statement. Teacher finds a way to combine all of said information. Class puts all information together in some way and then discusses it. Teacher then asks one question about conversation. All of a sudden, it is as if said conversation didn't exist. Either one of two things happens with the kids:
1) Students stare at you as if you are suddenly speaking Urdu and some how lept forward into time.
2) One word or part of a statement (in my class, orange, is the key word) makes them go totally insane. Picture super excited, yelling out the first thing that comes to mind, even if it doesn't connect at all with said conversation.
I will give my kids some credit. Lately, the expression of brain farts has mostly been choice 2. This strangely gives me some hope, because if they at least respond with words (even if those words are totally random) at least they are making some sort of attempt. My kids are strangely obsessed with oranges (as in the fruit). I guess it is because I always offer them oranges when they have "special moments." Again, by special, I mean, yeah, that was...something...moments. And do I give them real oranges? No, I am always like "yeah, that was....very special. I think you should have an orange." My kids are automatically happy because a) My teacher says I am very special and b) I get an orange! Yeah, I rock! It is pretty sad.
I laugh in it all because in the midst of all the stress and brain farts, I remember a moment that happened last week. It was one of those moments when the kids were saying random things, I wondered if I had taught them anything worthwhile this year, and Bill is gnawing at his shirt, spinning in circles. I wanted to hug myself and offer myself an orange, tangelo, and three pears. At that moment, Mark, one of my kids with an awesome sense of humor, informs me that I need to find my "happy place." I couldn't do anything but laugh at that. How on point was that?