Friday, January 18, 2008

The Fed-up-o-Meter

I've finally come up with a pretty efficient method for keeping my students silent during an exam. You would think "well, it's an exam, they're supposed to be quiet", right? Wrong. It's taken me a year and a half to come up with my efficient method. It consists on the following points:

a) Stare at them with the exams in your hands until they shut up.
b) Give them the precise time when they will be listening to the CD for the listening test.
c) Give them the date and insist that the exam must be done in pen, not pencil (yeah, I know, but believe me, it must be done).
d) Deliver the exams once and only once there is total complete silence in the classroom.
e) Once the exams are on the table, patiently explain how to do absolutely every question in the test. Include the total number of points and how many points they need to pass.
f) Refuse to say any other word for the remainder of the hour. Believe me, this is hard. But I've become the Mime from Hell.
g) The Amazing Fed-up-o-Meter (Aguantómetro). This has been intelligently described by one student today thus:

"Mira, ese es el aguantómetro de la profe. Primero va a por el boli rojo. Luego, le quita el capuchón. Y luego, te quita un punto."


"Look, that's the teacher's fed-up-o-meter. First she goes for the red pen. Then, she takes off the lid. And then, she takes off one point"

That was so accurate I had a seriously hard time trying not to laugh. I told you, (f) is hard.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

ooh nice new layout! and haha funny blog. I can't imagine being serious strict teacher .. hmmm actually i can now. With red pen too!

Elena said...

I try to be, my friend, I try to be...

I'm still trying to improve the layout, I'm not completely happy with it. I'll keep experimenting...

Maybe I have given you an idea for the Carnival hm?

Anonymous said...

You are obviously completely evil.
;)

I mean that as a very high compliment.

Elena said...

Sigh.... thanks... I should be eviller (more on this coming soon)