Student 1 says something really silly.
Student 2 [turning to me]: “Mister, are we your only class that says stupid stuff like that?” (1/25/22)
Student 1 says something really silly.
Student 2 [turning to me]: “Mister, are we your only class that says stupid stuff like that?” (1/25/22)
Me: "Hey Student, I listened to your [music] recommendation this weekend."
Student [surprised]: "You did! Tell me what you thought about it."
Me: "I was kinda surprised. I thought it was going to be obnoxious or unoriginal. It was actually quite..."
Student: "Quite what? I'm going to need a detailed decomposition." (1/24/22)
Student: “Man, Mister, you weren’t kidding when you said last week that we’d be doing questions that take up a whole page.”
Me: “What? You didn’t believe me?”
Student: “No, I thought you were saying that just to scare us.” (1/20/22)
Student 1 [entering the classroom]: “I’m back!”
Student 2: “Wait! You were gone too?”
Student 1: “Yeah, I got COVID.”
Student 2: “Me too!”
Student 1 and Student 2 [in a mock cheer]: “Yay! We got COVID!!” (1/19/22)
Student 1 helps Student 2.
Student 2 [loudly]: “Stop saying that. It’s not helping!”
Me [walking over to calm the situation]: “What was Student 1 saying? It looked like he was just trying to help.”
Student 1 shrugs.
Student 2 [in an exasperated tone]: “He just kept telling me that if I would just get all the parts of the question right, I wouldn’t be getting them wrong.”
Me [looking over at Student 1]: “I mean, he’s got a point.”
Student 1: “Thank you Mister!”
Student 2 [rolling his eyes at me]: “Yeah, but that’s like saying ‘If you were smarter, you wouldn’t be so dumb.’” (1/18/22)
Me [for the third time to Student 1 who was distracting Student 2]: “Did you finish your work?”
Student 1: “No. How about if I finish one problem in the next thirty seconds then I don’t have to do the rest of them.”
Student 2 [to Student 1]: “WHAT!? That makes no sense? Why would he ever make that deal with you?” (1/14/22)
Student 1 [bounding into my classroom with Student 2]: “Mister! Wait! [turns to Student 2] How did it go?
Student 2: “If you were walking in the forest…”
Student 1: “Oh yeah. Mister, if you were walking in the forest, what’s the first animal you’d see?
Unlike other blog entries, I have a request before you read the rest of this funny conversation with my students. What would have been YOUR answer to that question?
Me [thinking about the last animal I saw on a hike]: “I don’t know. A bird?”
Students 1 and 2 start laughing.
Me: “Wait! What’s going on?”
Student 2: “Supposedly the size of the animal you said is the size of the problems you are dealing with in life.”
Me: “So what animal did you say?”
Student 1: “A giraffe.” (1/13/22)
Student 1 [who is notorious for asking random questions and straying off topic]: “Mister, I forget. Did you ever tell us if you have any kids?”
Me: “I’ll answer that lat…”
Student 2 [interrupting my answer]: “Who cares!? He has a dog…A dog that he was supposed to bring to class today.”
Student 1 [distracted from his original question]: “He was supposed to bring his dog to class today?”
Student 2 [staring right at me]: “He’s supposed to bring his dog to class every day.” (1/12/22)
Students 1 & 2 erupt with raucous laughter while Student 3 tries desperately to downplay something.
Me: “What’s going on over there?”
Student 1 [trying to contain his laughter]: “I was telling Student 2 that this stuff feels like it’s mentally abusing me…like it’s mental abuse.”
Student 2 [laughing while interjecting]: “Yeah and Student 3 thought Student 1 said that he was mentally obese.” (1/11/22)
Student 1 [reading the announcements while entering the classroom]: “New seating chart tomorrow.”
Student 2 [entering the classroom behind Student 1]: “New seating chart? Is that today or tomorrow.” (1/10/22)
Student 1 [looking at a crossword puzzle clue]: “‘Song by the Beatles’…I don’t know. I don’t listen to the Beatles.”
Student 2 [from across the room]: “What!? You’re allergic to beetles?” (1/7/21)
“Whew! Long time I never climb those stairs.” - Out of breath comment from a student slowly passing my classroom on the first day back from Winter Break. (1/5/22)
Me: “I heard you’ve been tutoring some people for this test.”
Student [dejectedly]: “Yeah. I’ve been helping [lists several students’ names]. I even know why they need my help.”
Me: “You do?”
Student: “Yeah. It’s because they don’t pay attention in class. I even told them that they wouldn’t need any help if they just did their work in class like everyone else.” (12/15/21)
With just two students left in the classroom after school, I finally had time to eat my lunch. I chose to eat just outside the doorway so if students needed to ask their questions they could do so while maintaining a safe distance.
Student 1: "Mister! Is that a brownie? That looks so good."
Student 2: "No, that's just a sandwich."
Student 1: "Then why is it brown?"
Student 2: "Because it's wheat bread!"
Student 1: "Oh, I thought it was a brownie. It doesn't look that good any more." (12/14/21)
Student [after helping his friend with a difficult question]: "Mister, you know this is my hardest class, right?"
Me [nodding]: "Yup."
Student: "Are you proud of that?!" (12/13/21)
Student [entering the classroom and throwing her bag down by her desk]: "I'm so upset."
Me: "What's wrong?"
Student: "I spent the whole class [last period] memorizing stuff and studying for my test only to have someone tell me it's an open-note test." (12/10/21)
Student 1: “Happy birthday Student 2!”
Student 3: “Yeah, happy birthday! How do you feel to be sixteen?”
Student 2: “Old.” (12/9/21)
"YES! I love this kind of math." - Exclamation from a high school student after he pushed through one of the harder problems of the year, a mathematical proof. (12/8/21)
Me [to Student 1]: “Why do you have a potato?”
Student 1: “Oh, it’s actually a present from Student 2.”
Me: “That’s an odd thing to give as a present.”
Student 1 [clutching the potato]: “It’s actually the best present he’s ever given me.”
Me: “What!? That’s not a very high bar.”
Student 1: “One time he gave me a pregnancy test for my birthday. So, yeah, I’my happy to get a potato.” (12/7/21)
Student 1 [upon entering the classroom]: “Mister, why does it smell like Home Depot in here?”
Me: “???”
Student 2: “What are you talking about?”
Student 1: “It smells like Home Depot in here…Why is it spelled dee-pot?”
Student 2: “What!?”
Student 1: “Hey. Leave me alone. I like the smell of Home Depot.” (12/6/21)