Students! You gotta love them
"Sheepishly she knocked on my door, and I invited her to enter and be seated."
One day I confiscated a student's cell phone for having it out in class. A short while later the phone vibrated announcing the arrival of a text message. The texter was off campus at a doctor's appointment and was asking how things were going at school. Not having ever sent a text message previously, with the help of the class I sent the following reply: "This is Mr. Melvin. Upon your arrival a school, would you please come and see me?" I used no abbreviations and perfect punctuation. An hour and a half later the student returned to school and came to my office. Sheepishly she knocked on my door, and I invited her to enter and be seated. Purposely I continued to work for a while so the tension might build. I laid down my pencil, looked her in the eyes and said, "Young lady, what is the school's policy on cell phones?" She replied, "No cell phones are permitted to be out during class. I guess I shouldn't have sent that text during class time." I then asked, "What has the last hour and a half been like for you?" Nervously she replied, "Mr. Melvin, I've been stressed out." I then smiled at her and said, "That's probably punishment enough. Just don't let it happen again." She breathed a sigh of relief, and I never caught her with her cell phone out again.
Interesting quotes from former students:
"What day of the week is Good Friday on this year?"
"Mary Jane. what is your middle name?"
"My parents were wondering if I could miss school on August 31 and 32 for a family trip.
(I gave her permission to miss August 32, but told her I would have to discuss the 31st with her parents. I then showed the high school student a calendar.)
"When I die, I'm going to have my family and friends gather together on a football field, each with a tazer gun and the last one standing gets my total inheritance."
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