Today, one of my classes descended into total chaos, then mutiny, for the first time. They are the noisy ones and there were these people who were supposed to come administer a survey to the whole class, but they didn't come, so we started class. Then they came, right in the middle of some kids' presentations, and asked for the kids with permission slips. There were only three, so I tried to make room for them in the back of the room, but one of my "problem" kids decided that this was his chance to assert his hellionness. He moved into the place we were trying to clear for the survey and refused to move. When he first refused, I should just have called the security guard and trumped the whole power struggle right from the beginning, but then I would have had to send him to the VP. He finally moved, but with the survey muttering in the background and kids doing relatively poor presentations, no one felt they had to listen. What's more the survey guy had a survey for me to do, too. As I strove to grade the presentation, force the others to listen to it, keep the smartass in line, and fill out a survey about how high a priority tobacco-use-prevention lessons are to me, I found myself remarkably unperplexed. I kept thinking, "It's only because of the survey, but no matter what, it can only go to 2:20."
What do they deserve to do tomorrow?
