1 Wow.
2 An entire 38-item 3-D HD DN vanished just now!
3 It was pretty much about how much students tend to get off task this time of the year, and how they use class time to socialize and not get things they need to get done, well, done. It wasn't really 3-D HD though. That was pure balderdash. I just wanted it to sound cool.
4 It becomes a yearly battle for a lot of teachers, because we have to catch up with getting paperwork finished, books collected, and all sorts of other nonsense.
5 At this point, we don't want too much paperwork coming in, so we often have class projects going on. The students tend to sense this and see it as goof-off time.
6 Teachers then get into several modes: some battle it with all they have, which annually takes a toll on their health.
7 Some go crazy on their students, throwing out warnings and the fear of God.
8 Some get revenge by giving F's and screwing up GPA's.
9 I try to do a curious combination of all of those things, and walk calmly through the nonsense, maintaining a polite smile the entire time. Glance. Chat with groups. Stay calm. Nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about.
10 This is an annual ritual. I give group projects. They MUST work in class on them. It is built into their grades. They STILL tend to get off task, even though grades are put in jeopardy.
11 And so the ritual continues.
12 I try not to sweat it, because the entire SCHOOL goes crazy this time of the year. The Seniors are already checked out, so everyone feels entitled to goofing off. I see teachers get irritated every single year. I see some of them go absolutely crazy/angry to the point of looniness.
13 I just expect the students' behaviors, and insist on quality. They must demonstrate an ability to remain on task during class, and they must have a presentation that teaches. It's on them. If they see it as a "free" day, so be it. Their grade.
15 O, I had LOTS more today, some scathing things on lunatic teachers, some other scathing things on lazy students, and a whole bunch of nonsense, but it all vanished, as I said. And nothing to get hung about.
16 Probably not altogether a bad thing.
17 I decided to throw that picture of that strange class up at the top of the DN, because I think that's exactly the kind of class some teachers expect this late in the year. It is actually what I see as I walk around the room like some abstract wraith that has just smoked a joint.
18 It's funny, 'cuz I've seen it all over the years. Everybody on campus wants THEIR thing done, so we have sudden Code Red drills, benchmark tests, staff development things, and a general goofiness and insanity popping out of everywhere.
20 That explains the top picture today. Disney/Sleepy. Sometimes Dopey.
21 So the DN I spent all last night vanished without a trace this morning.
23 I'd like to walk through it all, and then slowly vanish.
25 It is time to walk calmly, and stay relaxed.
26 I'll let the rest of the universe go mad for a few weeks here. I'm on some sort of ride that lifts me above it all, like that ride that soars of California. I don't even need to hang on; it just lifts me, and I travel dreamily through all of it.
27 Zen and the Art of Ending a School Year.
28 Lesson One.
29 I'm invisible, and I prefer it.
30 I think I'll vanish now.
31 <pop>
32 Peace.
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