When Students Take On Teachers...

Today, my second block was out to get me, in the best of ways. 

We were learning about classical conditioning. As I moved through the classroom, helping students with their work, I noticed one of the class prodigies, Jose, moving smoothly clockwise to my movement so that he could speak with each cluster of desks as my back was turned. I made sure to give him space; if he was up to something, it was bound to be good. Just yesterday I got him with a prank (see below), and so I was ready to see some payback.

Sure enough, each person, after he visited them, raised their hands to get my attention—and then snapped. I wanted to jump up and down with glee, but after a bit, reflected that I couldn’t let it go too far—I really didn’t want them snapping at me all week to get my attention. So I went up to the board and wrote:

Aim: Condition Ms. W to come when we snap

Unconditioned stimulus: Raise hand

Unconditioned response: W comes over (well, technically this is a pre-existing condition)

Conditioned stimulus: Snap

Conditioned response: W comes over

Saw this while at a traffic light. RAM pride!

The kids were both impressed and chagrined that I figured it out. But I can’t tell you how much more impressed I am with them. After offering six different classes fifty points of extra credit if they can condition me, they’re the first who took me up on it. It didn’t work, but I gave them 10 points and 20 to the ringleader. If they can do it so it works, they’ll get their 50. They’re in “challenge accepted” mode.

Even my least motivated block rolled well today. The kids replicated various experiments that they’ll have to know for their exam, performing them on each other, and the class was a happy, busy place. Even the typically slacking kids got their evaluation paragraphs written. At the end, I wrote a note home for a student who is typically the class clown, praising her for getting everything done today, and then staying after to help her pregnant friend and to clean up the classroom. She skipped out happily with the note clutched in her hand. So easy to make kids happy.

Yesterday I brought in hamentaschen for my colleagues and students. Unable to pronounce the word, one class dubbed them "Hum-hums." It's the urban dictionary version of hamentaschen. 

In the spirit of Purim, I played a little prank on that genius-child from before. He keeps his notebook in a little desk drawer at the front of the classroom. So I stopped at the dollar store and found a huge plastic tarantula which I placed in the desk. It was fun to watch him leap back when he opened it. But I can be pretty sure that since classical conditioning didn’t work as payback, something else is coming soon. Maybe I shouldn't teach them about compliance techniques...