Kangaroo Criticism

As anybody who reads this blog knows, I put kangaroos in many of my motion problems.  My post, entitled Beastiality, is the number 2 read post behind How Do Teachers Get Paid?.  In the version of the test today, my pet kangaroo had to grab hit favorite from a tree.  This is the letter I got on one test:

“How is he supposed to get it down w/0 hands?  And where would you get a pet kangaroo anyway?  You couldn’t get it through customs.  I hope you have a HUGE backyard, since your pet is going to need a LOT of room to run around.  Do you even know how to take care of a kangaroo?  I mean, it’s not like you can go to Petco or wherever and say ‘Hey. Give me some kangaroo chow’ or something.  And since you clearly don’t care enough about your pet to go get his toy for him – with a ladder or something – I am beginning to question your ability to care for another creature.  I don’t know, Mr. ____.  I feel like you didn’t really think this one through.”

This might be the longest note I’ve ever received on a test or quiz where the answer was actually right.

I Know What You Want

After all my boring posts about my ideas of teaching, here’s the part you all like.

I’m giving a test today, and there’s a bonus problem at the end.  Here’s what one girl wrote:

Dear Mr. _____,

You are the very best teacher ever and I am so glad your [sic] back!  I feel like throwing up right now so please give me this bonus point.  I hope you have a fantastic day and by the way you look very sharp ANYWAYS please consider this point I may need it later on in the quarter because there is a [sic] extremely high percentage that I will be failing this test.  I believe we should go to KD as a class trip that would be soooooooooo amazing.  Well I guess I should go back and finish my test now.

Ok then.  Dunno what KD is.  Good run-on sentence though.  Oh, and one girl drew a giant kangaroo for points.

Beastiality

First off, thanks to DC Blogs for putting me on the front page!  How cool is that.  So, of course, my first reaction was that I need to write something interesting and profound for a new audience.  But nothing is really going on, so I’ll just do what I normally do…what about some ridiculous stuff my students do.

Today is test day.  To be fair, it’s quiz day.  An easy quiz at that.  The last test really destroyed them, so I gave them a gift this time.  Last week, while away, I had a sub go over the information they needed.  Today I spent the first 25 minutes of class reviewing with them.  I was basically giving them everything they would need.  I’m too nice.

A little background on this post.  A few years back, my first year to be exact, I used a worksheet from another teacher and it had a two problems that included kangaroos.  My students thought that was weird, but I went with it and pretended to be obsessed with kangaroos.  Throughout that year, kangaroos would make random appearances on tests.  I continued it last year and this year, adding swimming kangaroos, robotic kangaroos and, today, an angry charging kangaroo complete with a kangaroo fighter (think bullfighting).    Anyway, one of my students told me she was worried about possible beastiality because I’m so obsessed with kangaroos.   The conversation went this way:

Student #1: “I’m a little worried about all these kangaroos.  Is there some beastiality going on?”

Me: “Nobody said anything about sex with kangaroos.”

Student #2: “Who’s having sex with a kangaroo?”

I motion to Student #1.

Student #2: *Pause* “I missed you Mr. _______”

It’s good to be loved.  Also, I’d like to mention that this post excedes the allowable usage of kangaroo for non-Australia related content.  Feel free to leave comments if this is your first time reading.  I’d love to hear from you.

Music:  “Drink to Moving On” by Grand National on Kicking The National Habit  (off of Pandora…never heard of them before)