Another Ho-Hum Day

Some days are more interesting than others. Tuesday morning I awoke at 4:18 a.m. with a pounding sinus headache. I took two Advil sinus and two extra strength Excedrin and lay back down, trying to go back to sleep. At 5:40 a.m. my alarm went off and even though my headache was gone, I hit the snooze alarm twice before getting out of bed.

By the time I got to school a combination of the coffee and the cool temperatures had me awake and feeling pretty alert. My mood changed for the worse after I entered the school. Before I could walk the 100 feet from the door to my classroom I heard a young man scream and obscenity at a young woman in the hall. His back was to me, but everyone around saw me standing behind him, waiting to see what I would do. He is a senior and Tuesday was their last day. I could ignore the infraction and go along my way, but the crowd around him was waiting to see what I would do, and I feared that doing nothing would give the students permission to behave in a like manner. I confronted him, asking the young man to follow me to my room. I recognized him as someone I had taught two years before, but pretended that I did not know him. I asked for his ID to which he said he did not have one, and then asked if he had any identification and he replied no. I told him that he would have to accompany me to the office and on the way he produced his old ID from last year. I reminded him that students were required to wear their current ID all the time they were in the building.

When we arrived at the office we ran into one of the assistant principals at which point the student produced his real ID. I explained the situation to the administrator and he called on his walkie-talkie for the Dean who took charge of the miscreant. I wrote him a detention for his misbehavior. Because this was their last day of school he would have to serve his punishment before he could receive his cap and gown or graduate. He was not a bad kid when I had him in class and the Dean assured me that he had no significant discipline record--but some things just can’t be tolerated in a school building; obscene language, lying, as well as significant facial hair, even for a Senior on the last day of school and he was guilty of all three violations. The detention created a significant and well deserved inconvenience for him.

The day then reverted into the normal hum-drum associated with the end of a school year. During my free period later that day I was approached by another student who needed a signature for his Chemistry class next year. I took care of his problem and we had a chance to talk. He is a transfer student from the local Public High School and I found him to be intelligent, mature, and articulate. I asked how he liked it here compared to his former school and he said it was much safer and more conducive to learning. His former school is widely considered to be below par, even though their per-student expenditures are more than if costs to send a student to our state university. My contact with this young man was far more pleasant than the interaction with my before-school friend.

I ate my lunch alone, as usual, opting for the solitude of my empty classroom over the crowded faculty dining room. It is the only time I can be alone with my thoughts during the day. After lunch I sat through two AP Chemistry research presentations and oversaw an Honors Chemistry lab. After school I helped a young lady in my regular Chemistry class work through a review problem she was having difficulty with.

I had two regular tutoring students after school; both attend another local Catholic School. Getting home a little after 7 p.m., I used the last half hour of daylight to water the flowers I had planted Monday, ate dinner, and wrote an Honors Chemistry exam for Thursday. About 9:30, exhausted from a long day, I went to bed.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire!

The fact that students lie should not surprise any teacher or parent. The reasons students lie are as varied as the students and the situations. Like many things in life, people generally look for a simple explanation that covers every situation. Take for example two posts I found on the website “tachnology”, both by anonymous posters;

“Students lie because they have been taught to lie. For example, when the phone rings in their household, if mom or dad doesn't want to be bothered than they will say, tell them I'm not home. So when a child thinks it's okay to lie because their parents do it often, they believe it's okay to do so in any situation.”

Most teachers would probably nod their heads in agreement, but all lying can’t be explained by blaming it on the parents. Another post said. . .

“It doesn't matter where the child comes from. ALL ethnic children groups tell lies. Their ages are not important. Where they live is not important. Whether they are rich or poor it doesn't matter. What matters is whether the lie that has been told is told to hurt someone or whether it is told to benefit from a situation; get a job; get out of a punishment; get even with someone. The true reason kids lie is to get out of trouble or to better themselves in some way. They don’t do it to hurt people they do it because they want something. They will lie to get money "hey mom I lost my money at school can I get some more?” , , ,

This probably represents the best explanation for why students choose to lie. My friend from the Theology Department would argue that students sometimes lie even when the truth would result in a better outcome for them. They lie because we represent authority and you never cooperate with authority. In my mind they reflexively lie because they view a lie as always helping them. They lack the thinking ability to weigh actions against consequences.

The other day, before one of my classes, a young lady approached my desk to inform me that she did not have her homework, explaining that she forgot to do it. I reminded her that she could turn it in tomorrow for half credit. Later that period they were given time to work on their next homework assignment, and I noticed that she was wasting her time talking to the girl next to her. I confronted her, asking why she felt she could waste time when she had two assignments to complete before tomorrow. She assured me that the missing assignment was done and that she had just left it at home. She is so used to lying that she did not even notice that in thirty minutes she had told me two different stories, one of which had to be a lie. The embarrassed look on her reddened face when she realized she was caught made me laugh out loud.

I entered a grade of zero for her missing assignment which dropped her grade to an “F.”
Because she was now failing I decided to email her parents with the news, and the story of how she got caught in a lie about the assignment. Her parents did not return my email, but the next day her missing work was on my desk before school.

I'm Mad as Hell, and I'm not Going to Take it Anymore!

How many of you work with someone who appears to be losing his/her grip on reality? For the past few months I have seen a colleague act increasingly angry and irrational. The other day it got so bad that, for the first time, I actually became concerned.

The beginning of the story dates back several months. He and I were talking after school and the discussion went to the vote in congress that was coming up concerning extending unemployment benefits past 99 months. His sister has been unemployed and receiving benefits for the maximum allowed time; the upcoming vote could have cut off her only means of support. He was noticeably angry and agitated, vowing to go to “war” with the Republicans if they did not vote to extend benefits. He blamed them (the Republicans) for causing all the countries troubles. You need to realize that I respect and like this man even though we tend to see politics differently. I have been a witness to his liberal leanings for years, and we even agree on some issues, but his behavior was becoming more like furious ranting than informed dissent. He is a bright man, but is not good at considering alternate points of view (hearing is not the same as listening). He tends to prejudge a position based on whose position it is rather than the merits of the argument. He did not specify what he meant by “war”, but he has never been the kind of person to tolerate violence and I didn’t think much about it.

About three weeks ago he announced that if the Republicans got the cuts to the budget they wanted, there would be “armed violence” in the streets. He told me that he was sure that the “militia” groups would move to “violently” overthrow the Republicans in congress. In his mind they (the Republicans) were evil, hateful, and only cared about the rich. He made several things clear; first he is angry and frustrated, and second, he “hates” the rich and the Republicans. He also made it clear that he believes the racist right-wing crazies in the militias who hate Democrats and blacks have been deposed by socialist left wing crazies who hate the Republicans and the rich. Somehow I must have missed that on the nightly news. While I did not respond to this stream of insanity with any noticeable distress; the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I became very concerned. I struggled with whether I needed to report this to the principal. The exchange between he and I was a private conversation, and as such, need not be any of her business unless he had a made a specific threat to someone at work. He had not. My other concern was that he was making his “thoughts” known to his classes. If he was talking about this in class I would need to inform the principal and action would need to be taken. After some investigation it became clear that he had not shared his feelings with the students, and I decided to keep the exchanges to myself. It was probably just him using me to blow off steam. I still feel he is harmless, if not misguided and uninformed.

Two days ago after school I was talking to my friend from Theology when my liberal friend came in the room. We were discussing an incident where she (Theology Teacher) had witnessed one student being inappropriately physical with another. Both students claimed it was a joke and nothing was meant by it but she wisely told them that it was wrong and could not happen again. I advised that she report the incident to Guidance. Our discussion then went to other stories we had heard where the bully had done significant harm to the person being bullied. My liberal friend wondered out-loud how the bully would feel if the parents of the other person hired a “sniper” to “take him out.” He left the room after telling us that violence was the only solution to some problems.

Back Again!

It has been just about two months since I posted anything; mostly because of the chain of events that has required my attention and time. In early March my wife went to her doctor complaining of some unusual symptoms that had been bothering her for a few months. On March 17th she was diagnosed with uterine cancer and surgery was scheduled. I am thankful to say that the surgery went well and the final pathology report showed that the cancer had not moved into the lymph nodes. Her surgery should take care of the problem with no chemotherapy or radiation necessary. She has been home and restricted in her activity, unable to return to work for at least another month. In a shocking turn of events, two of my best friends from high school were also diagnosed with cancer at the same time.

During the last two months I have thought several times about posting something, but always found myself too preoccupied with my situation to get anything done. Now that things have calmed down I am inclined to post again.

It is surprisingly close to the end of the school year. We are on a short Easter break now and when we return to school there will be only four Mondays left to wake up early before summer vacation. I have always liked to measure the time till summer vacation by counting down “Mondays left to wake up early” with a notation on my board. The last semester exam this year is the Friday before Memorial Day.

Since my last post; we have finished current student registration, registered the new freshmen class, and had a budget for the department approved for next year. Last month the principal finished her interviews for next year and there are no changes expected in the department. All in all the past few months have been a typical spring at school, if not a typical time for me outside of school.