The Breaking Point

Published on February 8, 2007

My honors class is usually a little rambunxious. They are full of energy, and there are a few boys that are certainly filling the role that boys are "supposed" to fill. They are always walking around, yelling, fighting, etc. The girls also fill their stereotypical roles well: they talk constantly, they flirt, they write notes, etc. It usually is not that big of a deal, but today was supposed to be a fun day. We just finished talking about voice in writing, and so I wanted to show a video (below) that showed how their writing is much more entertaining when their voices show through. Well, my class was talking the entire time and so I said, "Okay, class, if you guys want to continue acting like second-graders, I will treat you like second-graders." So, I made them all put their heads down on their desks, printed up an assignment for their homework, since we weren't going to do it in class, and then typed another assignment for the weekend. I really like that class, but they were so unruly today, I knew that I needed to do something to nip it in the bud. Only one student apologized after class was over. They had their heads down the entire period.