Well, its been over a week......

Ok, so its been over two almost, I've been kept so busy this past few weeks.  This week is the school Student week of prayer.  The topic has been Hero's of faith, following the chapter in Hebrews about faith.  It has been interesting watching how the students react to hearing such things.  Most of the islanders are christian, but few are really christian.  I dare to say that few SDA's are true christians, but not to get onto that tangent, it has really been cool.  

We have finally settled out for the long haul.  We as teachers finally have most of the same students every week, and mostly everyday.  Its kind of an unknown novelty that I hadn't ever thought that a teacher thought about, but I do on a regular basis.  I'm also getting to see a whole new side of students, and getting to experience it first hand.  My teachers told me when I was in grade school and high school that they had seen it all and that we weren't even scratching the surface of what students before have done to try and cheat and disobey the rules.  Well, I followed the rules, which around here makes me a teachers pet, but thats because following the rules just because they are the rules is an anomaly.  I'm sure my students think they are being very sneaky and all, but just like my teachers told me, I've seen it before and its not new.  I just can't get that through to them, they don't listen all that well to reason.  But Mr. Baker, I'm not chewing gum.........chew.......chew.......chew.......  You get the point, they try to lie to coverup the most odious things.  Oh well, every school has such things, I think its inherent to teaching and being around students.  

There is a line from a very funny movie I like.  The main character is being blamed of stealing millions of dollars from the US government, when he is asked about it he so coothfully says, "All I wanted was an honest weeks wages for an honest days work."  That seems to be the philosophy of all my students, they want the grades really bad, but don't want to dish out the work to do them, and its not like we as teachers sit and mischievously say, who can we fail today either, we do try and make it so everyone can pass.  Alas, even with our help, some don't even try.  Probably one of the most frustrating things I've learned as a teacher.  I've also come up with the top 10 things you as a teacher might say:

1. If its as good a copy as any copy machine can do, your probably looking at someone's feeble attempt to cheat.  
   
2. If you are looking out the window, you probably aren't taking to good of notes, are you?
3. Doesn't it make it hard to find the right figure when you are in the wrong chapter?
4. Just because one student does it, it doesn't make it right, they will get in trouble too!
5. Don't be sorry, just don't do it again.  (applies to anything from talking in class to chewing gum in class)
6. The key to getting a question right on a test/quiz/homework is answering the question.
7. If you don't turn your homework in, you don't have a grade for it......amazing how that works.
8. When it says, "what do you think"  I want to know what you think, not what the book says.
9. There is a 99.8% chance that if you come to class late, you have missed material, you will need it in the future.
10. And my all time favorite:  Student asks, is this important?  Would I take time to say something that's important?

For those of you who keep up with this blog that are teachers, I'm sure you can relate to this, especially if you teach in the islands.  I know I'm not the first teacher to say these, and won't be the last, so I dedicate this list to all you, my fellow teachers who have towed the rope, who are towing the rope, and who will tow the rope of teaching.  

So this last sunday, we went to a private island and spent the whole day there.  The one really cool attraction was a sunken WWII airplane.  At low tide, you could easily swim down to it, it was about 10ft under the water.  At high tide however, it was like 20 ft down.  I went during low tide, and had a great time exploring the wreck, I wish I had SCUBA stuff to aid in my explorations.  We all got pretty sunburned, but now mine is pretty much gone, I can still feel it when I take a hot shower, but hey, it was worth every minute of it.  

Oh, for those of you who aren't from UC, I have some news.  My team of IRR students were deployed to do Search and Rescue stuff in texas in leu of the hurricane that just went through.  They left 7p Sabbath the 13 I believe and they will be back the following weekend.  Please keep them in your prayers as they are down there.  Not only is it the team that I have trained with my whole college career, its my girlfriend as well.  

Well, I should wrap this up and get it posted, so you guys can know what I'm doing.  I hope to talk to all of you guys soon.  Take care.

SB