Those One Percent Days

Most of my teaching days, probably 99% of them, are really good days. Today was not one of those. Usually I let things roll off my back, but I do reach a point on occasion when I can't take the silly, childish nonsense that one sometimes encounters when teaching classes. And by the way, that applies to classes with students of any age; the older ones are not exempt from goofing off and not paying attention. If you doubt that, sit in a workshop at a teachers' conference. You'll see what I mean. In today's case, though, it was mostly younger students who were driving me crazy with their chatter and inability to focus. One was even using his cellphone in the back row, a serious offense in my classes. I lost it. While I didn't single him out, per se, I did make it clear by my glare in his direction that I was talking to/about him when I said that electronic devices were not allowed in class, and anyone who needed another reminder would be ejected from class and marked absent for the day. As I continued to cast eye-venom at him, I thought he would break into tears. In the moment, I didn't care. The phone was put away and I not brought out again during class. Now that I've had a few hours to simmer down, I feel a little remorseful for snapping.

In truth, it wasn't just the student using the cellphone that set me off. Half of the class arrived late (final drafts were due today) and with the constant interruptions, I was having trouble maintaining my train of thought. These situations always make me feel bad for the students who are on time with their work done, ready to learn. But I'm not a robot. Despite generally being able to carry on even with interruptions, I'm not immune to distraction. My very weird student, for whom I've been trying to have greater empathy, did a brief presentation at the beginning of class, in which he apologized in advance for the sound of his voice (which is just a normal voice) and for the possibility that he may "sound retarded". Maybe that odd behavior set the tone for the class.

All -- or at least most -- of the students were fidgety and no one was getting much out of it. After an hour and a half (of a two-hour class), I dismissed them. On Wednesday we'll get back to business as usual, of which today was not an example. And I'll give them the same break I'm giving myself: We're all entitled to a bad day.