Saturday, June 03, 2006

Top Five: Student vs. Stapler Round One

In honor of the last day of school (yay!) and the positive feedback (bigger YAY!) that my story about my dumb student received, I'm now going to present the five dumbest student stories, starting with #5 - Student vs. Stapler, Round One

I teach sophomores, which means I teach a group of young men who have reached that age where they are starting to come to understand their own bodies. They've learned about all the various parts of their anatomy and the varying degrees of pleasure each can bring to them. Which leads us to that favorite of male erogenous zones...

The nipple.

Now, don't get me started on the male nipple debates: why do we even have them, it it really that abnormal to have more than two, does it make you at least a little gay if you like having them played with? There's a time and place for all such debates, but this is not it (though perhaps a future blog entry just might be). This is the time for a heartwarming tale of self discovery, of one boy's journey into nippular manhood. And the stapler it took for him to get there.

My students sit in rows of five, one such row coming to an end right near my desk. On my desk is a stapler. Not a Red Swingline, unfortunately, but my Little Red Riding Hood Special, purchased for $.99 at my local Wal-Greens. As most staplers do, it opens, allowing it to be used flat for various stapling activities, such as hanging notices on a bulletin board.

One day, one of my not-so-bright students sitting in that last row, discovered "Little Red". He, let's call him Jack, picked it up. I was up front giving a lecture on the various issues of censorship in Fahrenheit 451. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jack picking "Little Red" up off my desk and examining it (imagine Neanderthal Man presented with an Ipod and you'll have an idea of the look on his face as he studied the technological marvel that is the stapler). Seeing no harm in allowing him to expand his mind by studying the inner workings of "Little Red" I ignored him and continued with the lecture.

Perhaps that trust in young Jack's eagerness to learn was my failing, for if I had said something to him then, when he first picked up the stapler, perhaps I could have saved him from the pain and anguish that were to follow moments later. For, as I noted, again from the corner of my eye (an educational skill referred to as "withitness" within the trade), Jack opened "Little Red" flat, pressed the "firing" end to his left nipple, and expelled a staple into that poor, pointless bit of his anatomy.

"Ow! Shit!" he yelled. Of course, such an outburst attracted the attention of the entire class. "That hurt."

At this point, I felt obligated in my role as Jack's teacher to turn the situation into a learning opportunity.

"Well," I said, "What did you think would happen if you jabbed two sharp pieces of metal into your nipple?" I refrained from adding the obligatory 'dumbass' to the end of the sentence as I felt that was most certainly implied.

"I don't know," Jack said, throwing "Little Red" down onto the desk, his face the twisted mask of a scorned lover. "I... it hurt!" He peered down the inside of the front of his polo shirt, one hand rubbing the offended area through the fabric. "I think I'm bleeding." He shoved two fingers down the top of his shirt, wiped them across the nippled and pulled them out. "Holy crap! My nipple's bleeding!" He looked to me, his teacher, with the look of a panicked deer, the headlights of an 18-wheeler bearing down on him. "Can I go the nurse?"

I nodded and Jack hastened from the room, one hand still gently rubbing his poor nipple.

As soon as he was gone, I offered five extra credit points to anyone who gave him a titty twister before the end of class.

Round One to the Stapler.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Last Day

I know I said today would be about dating the bisexual, but as Harwell pointed out, talking about her could lead to bad things. So we'll save that for another day. Instead, let us celebrate that today is the last day of school!

No more rulers, no more books, no more of my dirty looks...

And in honor of that day, allow me to share one of the stupidest things I have ever seen...

My classroom is on the third floor, facing the front parking lot. One of my students, let's call him Bill, was sitting next to the windows. Bill's not a bad kid, a bit of a wise ass, and not always the brightest bulb in the lamp, but not bad. But on this day...

We working on Hamlet. Several of Bill's classmates were in front of the class acting out one of the scenes in the play. Periodically, I would stop and try to explain to them in layman's terms, what was going on (for example - "Suppose you came home and found your best friend buggering your mom on the couch, mere days after your father kicked the bucket. How would you feel?")

In the middle of "To be or not to be", Bill yells out the window.

"DUUUUDE!"

Presumably, since I didn't look, on his buddies was in the parking lot.

Now Bill knows my class policy. Warning, the one detention, then two. Since he'd already left the room without permission that day = his warning, "DUUUUDE!" earned him a detention.

Moments after I told him he had DT...

Out the window: "Dude! You got me detention!"

That earned him two more DTs and me using him as an example forevermore as the single stupidest thing I have ever seen a student do.

Perhaps someday I'll share the tale of the student who plararized the same essay three times. Or perhaps that same students essay on how Abraham Lincoln stud for the black people.

I may need to start a teaching blog. Cause really? You can't make this shit up.

OUT

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Try This One for Procrastination

OK, not much here today. Only got three hours sleep thanks to chatty baby. But... there's a new post over on The Works. It's long and should give those of you trying to avoid your own work plenty of help in doing so. Feel free to leave a glowing comment on my brilliance when you're done.

And tomorrow (or maybe this weekend): My thoughts on dating a Bi-sexual. It's not as cool as you think.

OUT

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

I'm baaaack...

OK, so a bit busy this week w / end of the school year grading and whatnot, so I apologize for not updating sooner. And as for today...

A new Wednesday tradition or two. First, my random list of what I'm reading / listenint to / watching.

On My Ipod:

Elvis - Suspicious Minds (one of his best)

Pink - Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) - Off her new CD. Funny shit. Very relatable if you're married or cohabitate

Dixie Chicks - Lubbock or Leave It - Screw the politics. They can sing. And they ain't too hard on the eyes either

Jon Bon Jovi - Dyin Ain't Much of a Living (Young Guns II Soundtrack) - One thing you can say: for a boy from Jersey, he nailed that wsestern vibe

Books for the summer: Maltese Falcoln, In Cold Blood, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and, if I can get that far, the latest from Nick Hornby (High Fidelity)

Watching: Scrubs: Season 3 (best comedey on TV, X-Men III, and Snakes on a Plane (see below)

Also, a couple of links. One, is a new one over in the link list - the blog of a guy named Travis Evans. Funny shit (and I should know). The other is over there and here as well. The blog of a buddy of mine from work. Some funny stuff there as well. And, if he gets around to posting it, a list of possible sequels to Snakes on a Plane. Just be aware that if he uses Meerkats in a Miata, that's mine.

Ok, Harwell. Think I might have helped you procrastinate enough for today?

OUT

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Wow! I'm Still Going!

Not only does this one post triple the number I made on the original blog, but it also gives you good folks (Harwell) a link to my NEW BLOG!

That's right! I've made another one. This one is for the actual pieces of writing I do, such as the "Manifesto" mentioned below. Eventually, I may move those here. It's a lot of technical stuff about expandable posts and whatnot, so I didn't want to screw this one up. So I made a new one that I could break.

here's the link...

http://neverfinish2.blogspot.com/

Good reading!

OUT