It's like pulling teeth...

It's rather surprising how much I enjoy working with the 7th graders.  I didn't expect to like them as much as I do.  The 8th graders take some getting used to.   They are more conscious of how they look and try to act all cool, like they don't like school.  But I know that secretly, some still like it, or at least still want to get their work finished.  All three 8th grade classes have been preparing for the science MCAs, which is an important test that covers all the concepts they learned in science from 6th-8th grade.  We've been doing lots of prep work for this test.  Today, the 8th graders were supposed to complete some packets dealing with physical and chemical changes.  A group of boys were "working" together in the back.  I was walking around answering questions and supervising, so I stopped by their table.  They weren't getting very far.  Big shocker there.  So I stood around, hoping that my presence would encourage them to get back to it.  Nope.  It didn't work.  So I asked what question they were on and tried to get them to focus.  It was like pulling teeth! I didn't want to give them the answer, but trying to get them to think for themselves... wow.  What a challenge. 

Not a whole lot of funny stuff goes on in these grades.  I guess one of the 8th grade girls said something pretty funny today.  Our classroom is pretty cold because of the ventilation system.  So as soon as this girl walked in (she was wearing shorts and a fitted t-shirt), she said, "Are you raising penguins in here?"  Mrs. B's response, "Did you know what temperature it was outside when you got dressed for school?"  She said yes.  Obviously you can tell fashion was more important to her than staying warm.

The 7th graders carry so much stuff with them everywhere!  Their stacks of binders and planners and books is so high, they have to be getting some serious muscles lugging that tower around all day.  However, they don't take very good care of their stuff.  Both 7th and 8th graders throw their books around and slam them on the desks, and sometimes chuck them on the floor in the hallway.  Tsk, tsk, tsk.