Post by con's fly is open on Jun 19, 2005 22:04:43 GMT 7
Well, the honeymoon had to end sooner or later. My work week centres around Saturday and Sunday: 2/3rds of my total classes. I have to do a lot of prep over the week, lest I get overwhelmed, and Saturday evening's usually a late one, fine-tuning tomorrow's classes based on today's results.
That makes the first class key: it sets the tone for the whole 8-class weekend. And that one's with the wild bunch: just learned present perfect tense (I am running). My worst brat, Walt, is in that one. When Woza visited, she had the good sense to sleep in through this pack.
So get this: the lesson consisted of Behind, Beside, In Front Of. Three m'kaying words! They already knew On, In, Under and Between- I taught them last year, with a great TPR. I had four, count 'em, FOUR different ways to explain them, complete with activities, games and shiny objects.
90 minutes later, the little retards were none the wiser. It just wouldn't sink in. As one angle after another sailed in one ear and out the other, I improvised a new angle: beTWEEN! beHIND! beSIDE! Tuh-tuh-tuh! Huh-huh-huh! SSSSSS!!! So I got Walt, the uberbrat, up to the board: "beSSSSSSSide!" I had all the prepositions written on the board. He surveyed the list, thought carefully and began to write:
U-N-D-E-R l He can't even recognize letters! I taught him right from apple-banana! The little dirtbag could read when I left him- his creepy mother hasn't been getting on him about homework, and now he's useless. He might as well join the new class, who are similarly alphabet-sketchy. What was that jerk who replaced me doing for 6 months?
So I got Jack up. He's since my era, and a little weak, having joined late. Up to the board, recite the three words, stuttering and hissing the key letter difference in the middle. "Okay, Jack, beHuhHuhHuhHind!"
U-N-D-E-R.
The class just went downhill from there: in the time I took failing to teach Walt and Jack a single thing, the others forgot what I had taught them. At this point I wished I'd had a saw, so I could slowly remove my own head to traumatize them all, out of pure spite.
None of my classes went really smoothly this weekend. That one class threw me off the rails.
And now: the punchline Jack can't tell a U from a B. His aunt refuses to consider dropping him to a lower class. Won't hear of it. I'll teach him, slow down and bore the other kids, and he won't learn a thing. Decent kid, but now doomed.
As for Spoiled Prince Walt... not quite ready to talk about him. AIf I'd known how it would have turned out this weekend, I'd have faked a stroke on friday.
That makes the first class key: it sets the tone for the whole 8-class weekend. And that one's with the wild bunch: just learned present perfect tense (I am running). My worst brat, Walt, is in that one. When Woza visited, she had the good sense to sleep in through this pack.
So get this: the lesson consisted of Behind, Beside, In Front Of. Three m'kaying words! They already knew On, In, Under and Between- I taught them last year, with a great TPR. I had four, count 'em, FOUR different ways to explain them, complete with activities, games and shiny objects.
90 minutes later, the little retards were none the wiser. It just wouldn't sink in. As one angle after another sailed in one ear and out the other, I improvised a new angle: beTWEEN! beHIND! beSIDE! Tuh-tuh-tuh! Huh-huh-huh! SSSSSS!!! So I got Walt, the uberbrat, up to the board: "beSSSSSSSide!" I had all the prepositions written on the board. He surveyed the list, thought carefully and began to write:
U-N-D-E-R l He can't even recognize letters! I taught him right from apple-banana! The little dirtbag could read when I left him- his creepy mother hasn't been getting on him about homework, and now he's useless. He might as well join the new class, who are similarly alphabet-sketchy. What was that jerk who replaced me doing for 6 months?
So I got Jack up. He's since my era, and a little weak, having joined late. Up to the board, recite the three words, stuttering and hissing the key letter difference in the middle. "Okay, Jack, beHuhHuhHuhHind!"
U-N-D-E-R.
The class just went downhill from there: in the time I took failing to teach Walt and Jack a single thing, the others forgot what I had taught them. At this point I wished I'd had a saw, so I could slowly remove my own head to traumatize them all, out of pure spite.
None of my classes went really smoothly this weekend. That one class threw me off the rails.
And now: the punchline Jack can't tell a U from a B. His aunt refuses to consider dropping him to a lower class. Won't hear of it. I'll teach him, slow down and bore the other kids, and he won't learn a thing. Decent kid, but now doomed.
As for Spoiled Prince Walt... not quite ready to talk about him. AIf I'd known how it would have turned out this weekend, I'd have faked a stroke on friday.