All I gotta do is...

A catered lunch for a field trip.

Chicken salad and turkey sandwiches on kaiser along with Herr's chips, a cookie, and water.

Excellent reviews from the kids who had the same options during our last trip. They looked forward to it, again.

Kid wanted turkey, so he threw the whole chicken salad sandwich box and contents away.

We were outside having lunch in the Spring Garden section of the city. So, quasi-public trashcan.

I couldn't keep it together.

Obviously annoyed with my beffudlement and rambling, the reply to me, "All you gotta do is take it out the trashcan!"

Mr. Flemming, back away slowly. Get your lessons and videos together. You're a teacher. Keep calm and lesson plan. ALL I gotta do is...???

*feverishly plans a series of lessons that goes along with those little teaching standards*

What They Whisper, Matters

Updated December 3, 2021

Updated October 21, 2022

I firmly believe that what students say when the teacher is not around or when they perceive that the teacher is inattentive, may be their most honest sayings. This doesn't suggest that students aren't keepin it a "hunnit" when we are actively engaged in conversation. Yet and still...

I pay attention to what the kids say underneath their breath or to a classmate. I recently blogged about purposeful ear-hustling.

While, there's the occasional, "I hate this class" or "He do the most," I try to read between the lines and where I can tweak a lesson or pedagogical approach, I do. Not always, but when I can.

Every now and then, I also hear feedback that lets me know I've broken through the multilayered Teflon that some of them have built up over the years.  I'd hear something that lets me know that I'm on the right track.

In one instance, a student was starting to cut up in class. Another classmate quickly checked him, "Yo, this not the type of class we can wild out in!"

Bet!

Then there was a group of girls who were discussing our latest "Do Now" series.

Student 1: "Yo these Do Nows be fun as &%*# -  I be writing a whole page and &%*#!!"
Student 2: "Real &%*#!! Me too. [So-n-so] be asking why I'm writing all these sentences!"

Listen to students!

Earhustle, even!😉