Spanish kids are pros at procrastinating. Their favorite procrastination takes the form of pencil sharpening. Standing over the garbage can, they stare off into space, occasionally giving their already sharp pencils a lazy twist. When the teacher finally notices their inactivity, they quickly resume their sharpening with a look of intense determination on their faces. This form of procrastination is the norm, practiced by all. Sometimes the procrastination is enforced by the teachers, who insist that students cut out all handouts and glue them into their notebooks (never heard of a binder?). This can take anywhere from 2 minutes to 15, depending on the level of rowdiness of the class and the motivation of the Seño.
My favorite new method of procrastination took place this week, while Michelle was visiting. My favorite little fourth grader Montiel, who I have written about many times, was energetically engaging in the class activity. We were learning about the solar system, and he couldn't hold his tongue before shouting out the answers. "Asteroids! Jupiter! The moon! Seño, seño, seño!" I noticed that however enthusiastic his participation was, he was not completing the assigned worksheet as he jumped up and down in his seat. When I brought it to the attention of the class that they need to be writing as well as participating, he yelled out "Seño, Fran le robó mi lápiz!" (Fran stole my pencil). Fran, a row behind, looked confused and held up his one pencil, indicating that he had no memory of the robbery. Recognizing the theft most likely as a lie, I quickly wondered why Montiel thought he could get away with it, especially with a rather full estucha (pencil case) in front of his paper. Then it all came to me: he was biding his time, hoping he could confuse me by throwing a robbery into the mix. Nice try, hombrito.
No comments:
Post a Comment