For whatever reason, I have developed an intense aversion to the word trippin. I'm NOT trippin.
Today in class, after we excerpted the Communist Manifesto, listened to John Lennon's "Imagine" and then to Pitbull and Nas's remix of that song, I asked the students to write a paragraph summarizing the overlapping main ideas in these songs and commenting on personal connections they could make with these main ideas. The second the word paragraph escaped my lips, it was greeted with a chorus of "Man, you trippin"s. (They're well able to write paragraphs in a few short minutes, and thoughtful ones at that. It's like my distaste for the word trippin is matched only by their distaste for the idea of writing. How do I get rid of that?) WTF.
I probably wouldn't have written a blog post about the word, though, if it hadn't been for an incident later that same class period in which I told a student doing math homework while Molly was giving directions to put it away. Her response? "Oh my GAWD! Why are you TRIPPIN?"
The thought occurred to me as I was taking a shower this evening, that it might be convenient and funny (for me) to create a poster that says, "I AM NOT TRIPPIN," that I could silently point to whenever a kid says it. Too much?
(That "Too much?" is not rhetorical. Seriously, mood-lightener or whack? Seeking feedback on this one.)
2 comments:
hahaha both. do it. please.
I just wanted to say how much mad respect for you and teachers everywhere.
I had to go teach 3rd graders in Spanish Harlem for a day through work. My patience was seriously tested. It also didn't help the curriculum the volunteer program had us used tried to teach supply and demand to 3rd graders.
Ah just wanted to say mad respect to you.
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