Not My Students

I'm not sure what has happened, but one of my HellClasses has calmed down. Now this is the exact same HellClass that was the the site of the observation that got me thinking about it all. The very same students who can't shut their traps and do some simple assignments.

Well, for the last two days, they've been pretty good. On Friday, they sat down and wrote essays. Quietly. Focused. I wondered what sprites had come in and changed bodies with them. The same thing today -- they sat down and started working. Then they quietly took notes. (I mean, some small craziness -- but I got them when I heard the balled up paper hit the floor when my back was turn and called them on it -- but nothing big or stupid.) I even got to talk to them a little bit -- I cracked a few jokes. They even thought they were new jokes (my joke about not having spellcheck on my white board is not new). I could tell them it was just the first time they were paying attention enough to hear it. And they laughed.

Again, I do not know who these kids are, but they are not mine. I still have work to go with my other two HellClasses, but right now, I'm more than half not hating my students. Not bad for a week's work and some cell phone confiscation.