Right now I'm giving my 10A English their exam. In the minutes before I was about to pass out the test, I asked the class if anyone had any last minute questions and one student, Michelle, raised her hand to ask, "What did you eat for breakfast this morning?" It sure is nice to be on this side of things- while writing and grading exams can be tedious, it's also much more relaxing than say, a tumultuous end of term at Dartmouth spent cramming and cranking out pages upon pages.
A teacher has to be so many things at the same time: actor, policeman, scholar, jailer, parent, inspector, referee, friend, psychiatrist, accountant, judge and jury, guide and mentor, wielder of minds, and keeper of records. Throughout the course of a day, an hour, and even a minute it takes many split second decisions about how to respond to certain things, and the responses you give can make or break you.
It was 10 minutes before the 11A Teacher Academy Quarter 1 Final Exam was to commence. Takky, one of the biggest behavior problems in my class sauntered up to my desk and asked, well, more like demanded, to see the test. He asked in such a way that made him feel as if he was entitled to it and as if seeing the test before an exam began was the norm here at Laura High School. I looked at him with mock shock and teased him that he was crazy, then more seriously explained that he could not see the exam before the test because it wasn't fair but in 10 minutes everybody would see the test. I asked if he had done the review sheet from a couple days previously because doing the review sheet was part of the final exam grade, and of course he hadn't.
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