The Computer is White

We have begun a new project (yes, another one on culture). Hopefully some day my students will understand how important it is to be from a culture other than the US and speak a language other than English. Until that day, repetition is key :)

The project has two parts:
1. Choose a culture and answer all of these questions about it (language, sports, religion, food, etc.)
2. Now, knowing what a culture is, create your own...

In order to do this we have been working in the computer lab (a much needed break from our classroom). While looking up their various cultures one student said:

I wrote some stuff in Spanish, but the computer says it's spelled wrong.
Me: That's because it only knows English.
Another student: Yeah. Our computers are white.
A third student: Miss, you know that it's hard for people to be racist these days?
Me: Oh yeah?
Third student: Yep, because everyone has colored TV.

These guys...

YOU say tomato...

My six 3rd graders and I discussed how one makes plurals in the English language (you know...if it ends in "Y," it changes to "IES..." and then we went on to talk about how words with a vowel on the end must not just have an "S" but "ES," like potato (potatoes) or tomato (tomatoes). 

I started singing the song, you say tomato, I say, to-mott-o....and one of my kids pipes up:

That makes no SENSE-O.

We all died laughing...

I'm Popular

Stdent: What are you doing over there?
Me: Checking email.
Student: All day?
Me: No, not all day.
Student: Oh, I was going to say...that's a lot of email.
Me: Yeah, well, I am popular, what can I say?
Student: Ha. I didn't even know you 'til I came here.
Me: Ha.
Student: I'm just saying...gotta be honest...

Girls

Student A: Miss, I just don't get girls...I give one girl a hug and another gets mad...
Student B: Maybe they want you as more than just a friend
Student A: Yeah there's a lot of those...
Student B: I was walking with this girl, right? And then I went to lunch and this girl asked if I wanted to buy a ticket...
Student B: What ARE you talking about, dude??
Student A: She got mad and walked away...

Me: Yes we are an amazing species.

Student B: No, you are just weird.
Someone: Maybe you should buy them flowers
Student A: Expensive...
Student B: Girls are expensive
Student A: (Long pointless story...) and then I bought a balloon...a 6$ balloon...

Me: Are you still together after all that love you showed her?
Student A: No
Student B: Why not?
Student A: Swine flu...
Student C: Why would I buy flowers when my girlfriend has a garden--I could just pick one up and give it to her right there!!
Student B: Or...just get fake flowers...they last forever...

Me: Men need to tend to a girl's heart like a flower...

Student A: But i don't like flowers
Me: But you like girls
Student: (Ah ha moment) Yes.
Me: Then flowers are a must.

Soundtrack

Thanks to my faciliation days I have a lot of amazing, incredibly deep and thought-provoking questions. I decided to ask one for our journal time today:

If you could have any song be your soundtrack for life, what song would it be and why?

Note: If you ask this question of middleschoolers, you should be prepared for all sorts of answers:

1. Thriller--because I like things that are scary and I like zombies.
2. Lalallaalalalla (a made up song)--because I really don't think about anything.
3. My life--because it's like my life.
4. I wanna drop the world--because I do (wanna drop the world).
5. Hey there Delilah--because it reminds me of a girl
6. We will (you know, we will, we will, rock you, drop you, pick you up and...flush you in the toilet and hope you enjoy it...)--becaues it's just funny.

Yeah.

Hoodlums

My oldest students have been acting a little crazy lately. Sometimes they forget they are in school:

Me: Sit down you little hoodlums.
One student: We aren't hoodlums.
Second student: What's a hoodlum?

Me: If you don't know what one is then how do you know if you are/aren't one?
Students: So what is a hoodlum?
Me: It's like a rascal...
Students: What is a rascal?
Me: Oh my...it's kindof like a crazy person...

One student: Like little red riding hood?
Me: What?!
Second student: Have you ever seen the gangster red riding hood? She has a gold chain...blinged out basket, instead of muffins, she has money
First student: Why is she white? You see her and you don't think anything...but if she's mexican, you assume she stole it
Me: Because people are dumb.

I am capable...

Yesterday I was working on animal vocabulary with my third graders. After we were done, I told them they could draw a picture while they waited for the other students to finish. One student started writing something else and I asked her if she was writing me a love note.

Student: Yep. Here.
Me: I looked at the note and read--I am capable of riding my bike. Oh, that's quite the note, I said.
Student: NO...turn it over!
Me: Oh...ha...and I read: Ms. S. You are the best teacher in the world.

Last week we had learned the word CAPABLE. I thought it was a strange thing to write in a love-note to me...ha...

Responsibility

In our Character-development education segments we have been talking about responsibility, defined as: "Being dependable; taking ownership of your own actions."

I was going over this definition with my students, giving examples of what it means to take responsibility of one's own self, hoping that they would be able to get it if I used examples of things they do all the time...

Me: For example, when I tell you not to talk and then someone talks and then I say, no talking--don't tell me you weren't. Fess up, and move on...
Student: Yeah. __________ does that.
Me: Or...(eh hm) another example--taking care of yourself and worrying about yourself. Like NOT saying someone else does/doesn't do something.
Another student: Yeah, like ________________.
Me: Or, if I tell you to sit down and you are still standing and I look at you and say sit down and you say you are, just sit down. Don't lie about it. Take responsibility for yourself!
Another student: ___________ does that.
Me: Ok, is anyone listening??
Student: _________________ isn't.

And failure. Ha. Good thing I still think it's funny...

I know you're feeling lonely...

Received this note from two of my students yesterday:

Dear M(r)s. S,

We know your feeling lonely so we are going to help you (lol) (jk) butta come pick me and _______ up at our house on April 16 at 4:30. My house is...and my house is...My number is...and my number is...

You are going to pick us up because we are gonna go to the mall and ummm do you know what...find your future man (lol).

Love,
your students

Any questions or comments please contact us at room 210 table 5 or myspace.com.
thank 4hu!

Wow--

First off--I had no idea I was emitting such loneliness
Second--Why April 16?
Third--I had no idea my tables were numbered
Lastly--What does 4hu even mean??!!

Having difficulty

One of my favorite students has been having difficulty these past few weeks listening :( I sent him in the hallway with a writing assignment.

"Tell me why you are having such difficulty in class," I told him.
Here was his response:

The reason why I am having difficulty is because you only think you hear me when me and _____ are talking. The other reason why I'm having difficulty is because __________ talks to me and then I talk back to him. The third reason is because I don't like doing work. The fourth reason is because I like to talk.

I was both thankful for the honesty as well as I couldn't help but laugh when I read this. This guy...

Beaver

Was going through a pile of pictures of animals, testing vocab this afternoon with my Kindergartners and we got to a picture of a beaver.

Student: Be-ber.
Me: What?
Student: Beber.
Me: You mean beaVer?
Student: Yeah. Like Just Bieber.
Me: Ha. I guess so...

Who Are You?

For our latest project, the students had to talk about their heritage, answering the following questions:

1. Who are you?
2. Where are you from?
3. Why are you proud of this place/your heritage?
4. What is one thing you wish other people understood about your culture?

Here's one student's response:

My name is...I'm 14 years old. I'm in the 7th grade and my hobbies are running, drawing, and eating. I'm from Mexico. I don't know what part of Mexico though. I'm proud because this makes me Mexican. I'm also proud cause I know Spanish. I wish other people knew that most Mexicans are gothic.

Gothic? I asked.

Student: Yeah...I needed to finish.
Me: Is this true?
Student: No.
Me: Ok, how about your write something else that's TRUE to close your paragraph.

Can I Get A Post It?

Student: Hey, Ms. S, can I get a post-it note?
Me: Sure.

Student: Look what I wrote!
Other students--Ha.
Me: Let me see it.

Note (Written in the most messy 6th grade writing you've ever seen):
____________ needs to get 200 McCulloch dollars for behaving in class. From Mrs. Smizdt.

Me: Pretty good, except I am not married and that's not how you spell Schmidt.

High School

Me: Hey, are you guys looking forward to High School?
Student 1: I don't know.
Student 2 (The Academic): Well, the only thing I am excited about is taking extra (elective) classes.
Student 3 (The Player): The only thing I'm excited about is that there will be more girls. OLDER GIRLS.

My Lips Don't Lie

One of my most masculine kids asked me the most serious question today:

Ms. S, do I have girl lips??

(I sure wish I could have captured the pleading in his eyes and voice...)

FUNeral

Student 1: How do you spell funeral?
Me: F-U-N-E-R-A-L
Student 1: F-U-N--that spells FUN--why isn't it pronounced, FUNeral??