Christmas gifts for teachers

Every year I receive gifts from my students a day or two before Christmas break.  I teach high school, so I don't get quite as many as an elementary school teacher, but I can always count on a wide and assorted collection of chocolate.  I appreciate the thoughtfulness of each gift and admire the wrapping and sparkly ribbon.  I feel bad though because I know I won't eat most of it.  I'm trying to be semi healthy and even if I weren't, it's just too much for one person.  I end up bringing it home to pawn it off on my family.  Don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate the thoughtfulness, but there is such a thing as too much chocolate. 

Even better than candy canes and chocolate snowmen are the notes of appreciation I receive from students. Teachers live for this kind of thing.  Notes written by students are the best.  I received a letter from a former AP student in her first semester of college.  She wrote about how glad she was to have had my class because it pushed her and prepared her for college.  She learned a lot about herself and learned to distinguish the things that really mattered from what was unimportant.  I had another card from a student this Christmas that said she was enjoying chemistry a lot more than she thought she would.  I love getting notes like these.  So, the next time you're worried about what to get your kids' teachers for Christmas, have them write a note or a card.  It'll make the teacher's day.

Creepy Crawlies

Last week I found a snake in my classroom.  Yes, it was only a  little garter snake, but I don't like snakes.  At all.  I didn't want to get close enough to it to see if it was rubber so I went and grabbed my neighbor teacher.  She picked it up and it pooped on her.  Gross!  It smelled awful.  She took it outside and let it go.  She was my hero of the day.  Now, the question is, how did it get into my room?  Did it crawl up the drain?  Ewww! 

Egyptian Literature

I'd let my AP students do thermodynamics problems on the white board and they forgot to erase it. Next day...Miss Carr when are we going to learn those hieroglyphics things?

The Other Side of the Page

I gave the students in 3rd period a 1-page handout for the lab they were about to do. I told them they would write their data on the back and do their analysis on the front and then that's what they would hand in.
Student: Miss Carr, what do you want us to do with the back of the paper?
Me: Record your data from the experiment.
Student: No, I mean do you want us to hand it in? 
Me (looking dumbfounded): hand me the front of your paper.
(Student gives me the paper)
Me: Now where is the back of the paper?
 Student (after a while): Oh.

Counsel from Elder Busche

Irony

My brain is my greatest strength yet my worst enemy.

We Are Men!!

Randomly (meaning I know they didn't secretly plan this)...the boys in first period started singing "We Are Men" from Mulan. Somehow they all knew all the words-verses included. At the end, I gave them a quizzical eyebrow and they explained to me how cool of a song it was.....and sang it again.

Don't tell them- but secretly I was pretty impressed. :)