Day 151

It is amazing how many times the students want to check their grades within a class period. Half the time they check them when they log on to the computer, then check them again in the middle of class (when they think I'm not looking), and then again at the end of the period thinking that they have changed.

I do put grades in when they are taking a test. It helps me see who has taken the test and who hasn't. But other than that, I wait until the end of the day to put in grades. It is when I have more time and when I can do it all at once instead of getting interrupted multiple times with questions I've already answered for them.

I have 3 students who are competing for votes for scholarship money. Be Money Smart and Facebook UHEAA competition (vote for Josh Fletcher).

I am excited to see how my students did in the main film festival happening next week. I've seen some of the other videos and I'm optimistic about my student's chances.

But as the semester is coming to a close, I can see those students who will be retaking the class because they didn't have the drive or the devotion to get things done the first time around. I have been telling them that it is easier the first time around to get things done but many of them don't believe me. I also had one student say that he doesn't care about taking it again because he'll already have the work finished. What he doesn't realize is that we change the work ever year and we clear out their network drives in June. Overall, there are 29 class days left in the semester and although it doesn't seem like much, it feels a lot longer than it looks.

I have had students tell their parents lies about me recently. I had one parent come and talk to me saying that his son says I pick on him in class. When I found out who the student was, I asked the father to stay in the classroom in the back and watch the reason why he thinks I "pick" on him. So the father did. His son came in and the first thing he did was to pull the plug from the wall and kill the power to the row of computers then say that he didn't do it and since there aren't any open computer he didn't have to do any work. Luckily enough I saw him do it, so I just plugged it back in and said sarcastically "Wow, look at that. The computer needs to be plugged in! It's working again!". The boy didn't even look at the back of the classroom. A few minutes later he asked a question that I had just answered for his neighbor so I told the student next to him to teach him and when that student did, the boy didn't even pay attention and tried to ask me the same question a few seconds later. When I ignored him, he leaned back in his chair and started whistling. I asked him to stop, and he just turned to me and started whistling louder. That is when the dad interrupted. The look on the boy's face was priceless. I just can't believe the amount of disrespect that I get from students and the fact that parents are quick to believe their student but don't dare believe the teacher.

I'm also beginning to get a bit nervous. I know I shouldn't be, but all the same, I think about the fact that they haven't said anything about my job situation next year (none of the districts that I've applied to have said anything yet).