This afternoon, as students are viewing images of World War II, we see a picture of a concentration camp. The class is austere, taking in the emotional impact of genocide. It's a serious lesson which will lead into a discussion of hatred, labelling, the Holocaust, Dharfor and the hate crimes that are committed on campus on a daily basis.
The next picture includes soldiers spread throughout a battlefield. One student interupts with, "Are those people dead?" He's completely serious, but I respond with, "Nope, they're just taking a long nap. Here's your sign." I think my response might have been undignified and I am now more than a little embaressed that I was not as respectful to those who died in the war. Yet, it reminds me of the various "Here's your sign" moments that happen on a regular basis.
Common Examples:
A student will walk into my class and ask, "Are you the teacher?" My response is always, "No, I just failed the last fourteen years of eighth grade social studies. Here's your sign."
When class is exciting a student will inevitably ask, "Do we really have only twenty minutes left?" This leaves me with a few options. I can either say, "No, we actually have twenty four hours and twenty minutes" or I can say, "No, they just changed the clocks with a random daylight savings time."
When we have a fire drill a student always asks, "Is this a fire drill?" My response is usually, "Actually, the administration is quite fond of techno music. Hence the repetitive beat, loud noise and flashing lights."
After I pass back papers, a student will sometimes ask, "Did you grade this already?" My typical response is, "No, I am just passing this back to you so you can see my ability to write the letters A through F in colored markers."