Fine moments in teaching

It hasn't been a good day. I'm exhausted, the kids are off the wall, we have a new schedule in place which incorporates a homeroom block (adding to the already-long days), and it's Friday. Fatigue barely tiptoes toward a description of my bodily sensation right now. However, good things exist in which to be indulged... my final block on Friday is my prep and I'm going to share with you the assignment highlight of my recent two weeks.

A few weeks back, I assigned a bit of a homework assignment for my PE 10 classes. I wanted them to write down what their participation mark should be and why, and I also asked them to write down three or four goals they had for the semester, particularly in the realm of health and fitness. Due to the severe lack of available, organized sports at this school (only one school team, one PE class per year, few other options for regular activity for the 1300+ boys on my side of the road), fitness is a big part of our assessment practices in our PE department. This, along with absolutely horrendous eating habits amongst the young gents, contributes to a lot of grade twelve obesity and laziness.

One of my grade ten boys gave the following response for his homework assignment. Keep in mind he is one of, ummmm, two mostly-fluent English speakers I teach out of 140 boys. If only all kids had the vocabulary to be this clever at our school...

"This semester my goal for PE is to improve my cardio. Reason? Jesse Eisenberg's #1 rule for surviving a zombie apocalypse is cardio and fitness. As I have prepared for the moment all my life, I cannot be caught off guard. Cardio helps build stamina which comes in handy in case of an outbreak anywhere around you by half a kilometer. The ability to outrun your horror not only prepares me for the breakout, but also gives me self confidence that I am "untouchable". Those are my reasons for my goal."

Even if it is plagiarized, I can't be bothered to call him out on it. When these weeks carry so few victories, I can at least indulge in some good humour. Happy Friday, all, and Happy Thanksgiving to those Pilgrim-loving neighbours to the south of Canuckistan. 

T