Confessions of Guilty Students, Part One

Today we were working on "dry erase boards." (These are boards that I made myself, as I am way too cheap to buy a board for each student. I took a clipboard, a sheet of purple paper, and a page protector, and made my own. They really work surprisingly well. Each kid gets one, and an eraser and a dry erase marker, and we check our understanding with that. For instance, I say, "Okay, what did you get for number 1?" and they all write their answer and hold it up. If most of them got it correct, we move on. Otherwise, we go over it. This was a much more exciting way to review for our state's standardized test).

This has a tendency to make the kids very silly and loud, but as long as they're focused, and going along with me, I don't really care. Since we do have to spend crazy amounts of time reviewing for the test, I would rather make it as painless as possible.

And, honestly, it's much easier for me, since they are not whining nearly as much as they did last year.

Anyway, we were using them, and it was working beautifully. I had collected all of the boards, and I was wiping them all of to put away. I noticed that one of my brand-new, used by only two classes, boards had graffiti on it!

I was instantly very, very annoyed.

If you have one thing with writing on it, the kids assume it's all right, and very soon all the boards will be disgusting.

I was more irritated because this was my advanced class, and my regular kids had used them the day before and I did not have that problem.

I started up with my lecture about how I was annoyed, and how someone had ruined my brand-new things, and how I had bought them myself, to make it better for them to learn, and I had just gotten started, when I asked who had done it. The kids were looking really nervous. I don't generally have to fuss at them often, and I was truly upset.

I got all set to continue my lecture until someone fessed up. I was going to tell them that I knew was one of them, as it was not there yesterday and they were the only ones who had used them today.

Then one tiny, timid hand went up.

I went, "AHHHHHH! Why did you do that?! My stuff? Why did you write on my stuff, child?"

She just looked really, really sad.

I told her to say after class. The the rest of the class remained looking nervous, but not as nervous as our little culprit.

After I dismissed everyone and I was alone with her, I interrogated her. After I was through, I had found out that she had thought it would erase. She didn't think it would be permanent.

I sighed at her.

Then I told her how proud I was of her for immediately confessing that she was the one who had done it, and I knew it wasn't easy to do. I also told her I was still pretty disappointed she would ruin something of mine that was brand new. I reminded her I was proud she confessed. But disappointed.

So I told her I was just tired, and a little sad. She was very contrite that she had caused it, and then went to her next class.

You can bet, however, I warned the next class within an inch of their lives.

One smiley face I'll except.

Never two.