It has been a while since I last posted anything because of my two-week holiday at the end of the second term last month.
The end of the second term meant final exams; the time of year were students become desperate because they know full well they are not prepared for the exams coming up. So this begins the ensue of panic where students approach teachers for last minute reviews of everything that was mentioned in class; and I mean this literally. Students come up to you asking for you to quickly go through the entire term from beginning to end because they never listened to you before, but are ready to listen now. And it is unfortunate to say that students do this because it is common for the teachers here to give the questions/answers straight from the exam during these review periods. Hence why my review periods usually end up empty after the first 5 minutes when the students realize I wont me giving answers away.
For me, the exam time here has become the part of the year I enjoy the most. I have to put up with an entire term of students misbehaving, not listening, homework incompletion, assignments not handed in, projects that have obviously been purchased from the local store that sell ready-made-projects for students to buy instead of actually do themselves, and just a complete lack of respect. So, I reflect back on all this as I write my science exams.
The exam periods are two hour long, but most teachers write exams that are completed in the first 15 minutes of the exam; and students are use to this. So when it came to the science exam, students where stunned to see exams 12 pages long that would in fact take up the entire two hours to complete. The greatest joy for me was after about 10 minutes after the exam started, I saw most of my grade 9 students with their hands up and worried expressions across their faces. Assuming they had a question, I approached the student closest to me and noticed there was fear in his eyes. I asked what was wrong and he responded with the most sincere look and a desperate voice: “Sir, if I bring in a project can I get bonus marks?” And it was at that moment that I laughed to myself and thought… ‘Now Who’s Laughing!?’
Bryan the Camel says…
That’s what I call a spit in the eye!
seriously laughed. out loud. i wanna know which student asked about bonus marks!!! very entertaining. i need to blog again.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHAHA. man that kid at the end was crapping his pants.
ReplyDeletelol...you're mean! id cry if i was in the class. but after all your previous stories, they probably deserve it :p
ReplyDelete