The Counters

Never did find any suitable tokens/counters, whatever. So this morning I made a ton. 1 inch squares with + or - on them. Different bright colors for each. Even got a teacher to spot me some ziploc bags to store them in. First class was wonderful, enjoyed it. Second class wouldn't let themselves try as much, so were off task and frustrating to me. There are some wild ones in there, so it wasn't so bad. Then the third group...no interest at all. Then again, they are Honors, and sometimes think they are above all this. Still, had to call three parents - shards of rubber bands flying, and finding one (idiot) with part of the same rubber band in his hand, several pieces around his desk and on his books. Of course, he didn't do it. So I called his mother and laid out the situation, even stressing I didn't see him shoot the rubber band. The rest of the class proceeded to argue, led by one boy whose parents have basically given him a free pass to act an idiot. His dad got a call, too, so he proceeded to be a dick while transitioning to lunch. I passed him off to a different teacher.

So, what should have been a victory lap for me was kind of mixed. Two classes got a lot out of it, two others I have to rethink for recalcitrant obstinacy. The Honors class deserves to be forced to think for themselves, but too many are lazy. Nurture over nature on this one.