Spelling woes

In my classroom, spelling assignments are due on Thursday, and we take the test on Friday. This is to ensure that if someone forgets to do their assignment by Thursday, they will have the next day to turn it in, and it won't be counted as late. So today, spelling assignments are due. And I have stated this to the class. When the kids turn in what they've got, I start correcting and make a list of the students whose assignments I don't have. And it's a LONG list.

I write their names on the board, reminding them to find the assignment and turn it into me, or to finish it and turn it into me, or it will be late. Many of them say, "But I already turned mine into you!" To which I reply, "It's not on my desk, so that must mean I didn't get it from you." End of story. On my lunch period, I even went to the copier and made copies of the assignment for the students who hadn't turned theirs in yet, figuring they lost it or left it at home.

As I am correcting math assignments, one of my young men approaches me and says, "I will be turning this in on Friday," holding up the sheet I had just Xeroxed for him. "No, you have 30 minutes to work on it now, so you will do it now. It will be late if you turn it in on Friday." He sits back down, and I get back to correcting.

Five minutes later, if that, he is back at my desk. "But I have half of this finished at home, so I'm going to finish the other half of it tonight and turn it in on Friday." Getting frustrated with him, because he has everything else turned in and nothing better to do with his time, I tell him that he needs to sit down right now and finish the paper that he has in front of him because it is due today. No excuses. He tries to protest, and I tell him, "No," pointing to his desk that he needs to sit down and do it right now (like I had told him earlier).

I turn away from him, signaling the end of the conversation, and get back to correcting the rest of the spelling assignments that are slowly pouring onto my desk. About 10 minutes later, I turn around and notice the boy isn't doing anything. Not thinking much of it, I go back to my papers.

But wait. He hasn't turned in his spelling. Why isn't he working on it? I turn back to look at him more closely. He's sitting at his desk, scowling and crying. I turn away. After a few more minutes, he is still crying. Hmm.

I go up to my teacher. "Do you know why Fred is crying?" I ask her. "Nope," she replies, busy with something else. "Oh," I said, thinking. "I must have made him cry, then," I said, thinking about the spelling assignment. She asked why, and I told her. She of course was not too worried about Fred, because more often than not his is obstinate and rude, and spelling is due today.

But, only a month into school, and I have made my first student cry. I think I have arrived. Heck, it only took my teacher 2 weeks to make Fred cry...I wasn't too far behind her.