Today started wonderfully!
Since the kids are doing state testing (required for
graduation in NY) I am proctoring. The
exam I was proctoring went from 1:15-4:15, so I didn’t have to be at school
until 10. I woke up, went to the gym,
stopped to get some fruit on the way home, took a shower, took a nap, got up,
went and had breakfast at a place that is normally closed when I go to work at
the normal time, got to work by 9:15.
I sat from 10-12:45 cleaning, organizing, packing, and
getting a travel list ready for my upcoming Europe trip, which somehow keeps
getting closer and closer.
Kids started arriving to my room around 12:45.
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| Sample test I found online |
Even with all my years of experience teaching, there are
still days that I see things I have never seen before. Today there were two such events in the three
short hours that I proctored the state science exam.
She continued to call me back to her in 12 minute intervals
until I finally told her that she could not leave until at least 90 minutes
into the exam and that I would not let her leave if she was not trying on the
exam.
In the end, she did not change her 3’s, but did complete 3
short answer questions.
Second new teaching scenario: Later, as students who cared about and actually tried on the
test started to finish, turn in their work, and sign out of the testing room, I
noticed something on the floor.
I do not allow food in my classroom since NYC is a city of
rats and mice and other critters.
But, I saw some jelly on the floor in three places.
I didn’t want to get upset since the culprit had probably
left the room since the other students were still testing and had not gotten up
from their seats. I figured a student
must have dropped one of those fast-food condiment packets on the floor and
stepped on it. I gathered several
napkins from my desk and quietly bent over to wipe up the mess – first the
smaller one and then the larger one.
After the first wipe, I realized that it may not be jelly.
No, it was definitely not jelly.
It was way, way worse.
It was way, way, way worse than jelly.
It was an excretion.
It was blood and chunky mucous from a menstruating girl.
It was on the floor of in my classroom, and on a napkin I
was holding in front of me.
Complete shock and awe!!!!
It took a lot for me to take the napkin quietly to the
trash, calmly open the classroom door, and quietly signal for the hallway
proctor to come to my door so that she could watch the students while I went to
find the nearest chemistry lab to take a full body shower.
I only found a bathroom, and had to settle for hand washing
scrubbing as though prepping to perform surgery.
I went back to the room and immediately emailed the
administration about the incident and requested that my room be haz-mat-ed (I’m
not sure if that is an actually term, but that is what I would like done to my
room!)
I’m still trying to wrap my head around how this huge chunk
and two streaks could have fallen out of a person wearing clothes. Did she not notice? Did she realize it was going on and just let
it happen Did she see the mess
she left? How did it get out of her
underwear and onto my floor?
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| I wanted one of these |
Sorry if you are sensitive to the grossness of this, but I
really don’t understand how a person could just let this happen. How she could not tell this was going on and
not request to go to the bathroom.
I get that the test is required for graduating, but this was
a situation that should have superseded the exam for at least a little while.
She needed to give this situation some immediate attention!
I may need to start keeping a suit like the one pictured handy
in my classroom.
