...grapes...

I was standing in the hallway during a passing period, as usual.
As a student walks by, she says, Hey Miss O'Brien, I like your scarf.
I reply with the typical, thanks.

Student:  It looks like fruit.

Me:  What?  What fruit does it look like?

Student:  It looks like a bunch of grapes hanging from a vine.

A little while later I walked into the classroom next door, where this student is in class.

Student:  Mr. Shaw, doesn't Miss O'Brien's scarf look like a bunch of grapes hanging down from a vine?

Mr. Shaw:  Uhhh...It looks like something that rhymes with grapes....maybe drapes.

Student:  I think mine was a better compliment.

...chapstick...

Student 1 [talking to Student 2}:  Everytime I look at you, you are putting on chapstick.

Student 2:  I know!  I'm addicted to it.  If I didn't have it, I would be sleeping!

The rest of the class and I exchange looks.

Student 3 is sitting in front of Student 2 and applying chapstick.

Student 2:  Hey, can I try that?  [She turns and looks at me.]  It's like juice!

...I have no idea...

Students are sitting at their desks working.
I am sitting at my desk entering grades.

Student:  Miss O'Brien, how tall am I?

Me:  I have no idea.

Student:  Oh.

...a new species...

Students were working on their bellwork:  correcting sentences that came from papers turned in a few weeks ago.

Student:  If I discover a new species of animal, can I name it?

Me:  Yes.

Student:  Really?  I can?

Me:  Yes.

(Pause for a moment of contemplation.)

Student:  I think I'm going to mate Brown Bears & Grizzly Bears.  I'll name them.....

Other Student:  Brizzly Bears!


The creativity is astounding.

The sentences they were working on had nothing to do with bears, or any animals at all.

...tanning...

Student:  Miss O'Brien, have you been going tanning?

Me:  No, I don't believe in it.

Student:  Well, it's real.

...be somebody's fool...

Thanks to my colleagues, I recently discovered something life-changing.  I don't know how I have missed out on this my entire life.  You will especially appreciate this if you are a product of the 80's.  I must warn you, if you think you are ready to click on the link below, it is 50 minutes long.  That's right, 50 minutes.  But it is worth every second.  So, grab some popcorn, sit back, and relax.

Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool

Special thanks to Tom, Adam, & Dirk for their enlightenment.

...just can't get enough...

The ACT is coming up, so that means I am doing some extra tutoring these days.

I was working with a student last night.  She is a girl after my own heart, demonstrating a real love for learning.

We had gone through several passages for the reading test.  It was getting late & she was getting tired.  We had just finished going over a fourth passage, and she was really improving on some things we had been discussing.  With a new confidence and excitement over what she was learning she exclaimed, I want to do another passage!  But then she realized that would mean reading another long passage and decided not to.

As I thought she was packing up, she turned to a math test & said, I like picking problems in the math test to see if I can do them!  After we met last time I realized the test is just a trap, so I like picking problems at the end to see if I can do them.

She proceeded to attempt several problems, with me guiding her if she got stuck.

Who stays extra long at a tutoring session because she thinks it's fun to see if she can figure out challenging math problems?

...hatin' on our music...

Teach Me How To Dougie is playing in the background.

Someone complains.

Student:  Miss O'Brien!  How you finna let him hate on our black music like that?


Me:  Why are you saying our black music, as if I'm black too, man?


With a smirk on my face, I walk over and put my arm next to his.  I point out, in case he couldn't tell on his own, that my skin is in fact much paler than his.  I'm glad to know he feels a connection with me, but somehow I think he got confused.

...what are you working on...

So I was working with some students on a practice ACT writing test.  They had been looking over each other's essays and evaluating them on the specific criteria we have discussed for their introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions.

At the end of class I ask the students what they have done well.  Then I asked, What do you still need to work on?


A student raises his hand.  I'm working on my body.