You are not allowed to say anything that begins with 'what if.' An excellent gem of a tip from another teacher in the department. I'm in love with it. My other favorite is used when a student says something inappropriate: " (name) you have exactly thirty seconds to come up with a better way to say what you just said." Fantastic.
Lastly, here is my tip for teachers of the younger crowd of teenagers. Prepare not only for a group of avid storytellers, but also a group of expert non-sequitorians.
Yesterday I was cleaning my board between classes while being followed by a gaggle of students who have taken to me like ducklings. We were having a nice little conversation about the first day of school when one student looks up at me and says "yeah, my grandpa died last night," and then continued on with the rest of his story.
"Did he really?"
"Yep. So anyway. . . "
I wasn't sure whether to laugh at his nonchalance or wonder if he was lying. . .
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