from 5/26

5/26
There are those isolated incidents where I question if I prepared my students well enough to complete independent learning tasks. Then there are times like today. I KNOW I prepared them to do their work. We spoke in class. I posted it in the gradebook. I posted it on the class page. I e-mailed all my students, twice. Not a single student brought in the work required. Not one.
I thought it was just me. After stepping into another classroom today, I discovered I was in good company. I heard the same things announced from that teacher. “I’m not moving back your deadlines. You have to be responsible for your project.”
Many teachers here report that the students just showed up and are not ready to learn. No pencils. No homework. No books. Even my mom reports the same situation with her students – 90 miles away. It must have been the three-day-weekend. Maybe it’s because it’s almost June, and we’re almost mentally done – teachers and students alike.
I used to say “I love Freshmen; baked, broiled, or fried.” Now I say “Freshmen are an acquired taste.” I wonder what I’ll say next year.