Oh My!

You can never predict how things are going to go with any particular class. Now, my school has two types of classes, vocational and general. Generally speaking, the vocational classes are the very lowest level kids with very poor English skills and bad behavior is always the norm. The reverse is true for the general education kids.

Yesterday I started a little class project. I had the kids make clocks out of cardstock and brads. They got to decorate them. The best 3 clocks in class received a chocolate bar as a prize. I did this with a vocational class and it went super. They understood immediately what they had to do, and they did it with no trouble. The designs on the clocks were really good. One of the girls even drew me on her clock (she did not get a chocolate bar because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I don't behold myself that way!).

I just repeated this class activity with a general education class. First of all... they didn't get it. Now, I passed out card stock with a clock face and hands printed on them. I handed out scissors... this is pretty clear even if you don't understand the language. They didn't get it. I had to mime with my fingers acting as scissors what needed to be done. There were still questions. Then, only a couple of the kids spent time coloring their clocks and making them nice. Then the students that finished first thought that they won the chocolate. So, for about 20 minutes I had mobs of children around me begging for chocolate. It was like being in the middle of a giant sale at a store, when you're not sure if you'll get out alive or not. These kids were like vultures. When I gave out my 3 chocolate bars, the rest of the kids were pissed off! They threw their clocks on the floor.

Why did they turn a simple enjoyable leisurely activity into such a nightmare? Well, I'm sure it helped that my co-teacher decided not to show up to help me. I hate when they do that.