Funny school moments

For those of you who I don't see on a regular basis, here are a few school related laughs for you.

1. In my freshmen class, we were talking about the meaning of the word "angst". I commented that I like to use that word on my Facebook or blog. Instantly I was bombarded with "I'm going to request you as a friend," which led to a conversation about the myriad of reasons that I will not accept their friend requests.

"What if I have my parents friend request you?" one student calls from the back.

"I don't usually do students' parents either," I replied...and .5 seconds later realized akwardness of my response. "Do" students parents? Did I really just say that in a room of 26 freshmen? Laughter all around as I tell them to get their minds out of the gutters. A shining moment.

2. We are working on writing comparison/contrast essays (which I think may have been a part of one of Dante's' levels of hell). I'm trying to drive home the idea that their essays need to have a point. I don't want to read a list of similarities and difference just written in paragraph form. As an example, I say "Joe is comparing football and baseball. I don't just want him to list a bunch of random things like they both need balls to score..." Let's just say that you can't say something like that in front of freshmen boys and not expect a response.

A new semester has begun. Let's see if I can do a better job of keeping my students' minds out of the gutter. I'm not holding my breath.