Mr. Grinch

Another one about my sophomores, because...of course.

As I think I've stated, we're currently reading Night which is about the holocaust. Today I had my kids work on a project where they made charts about who they feel holds the most responsibility for the holocaust. One of my kids was playing around and filled in the "Hitler" slice of her pie chart with a picture of Hitler, clever, but not exactly what we're doing. So I told her Hitler should be green, and a second student said, "Like the Grinch!"

She then proceeded to write what must be by this point the full length version of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Hitler."

Bonus points for creativity today.

R.E.M.

I feel like I always blog about my sophomores. It's not that my other classes aren't interesting and funny, it's just that my sophomores tend to catch me off guard and make me laugh, so I feel the need to share.

English II is currently reading Night by Elie Wiesel, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the book, it's about the Holocaust from the perspective of the author. It's a heavy book, obviously, the topic of the Holocaust is a dark one, then couple it with themes like religion, lack of faith, losing faith, and family? However, it's one of my favorites to do, because most kids have read other books from the same period, and there's so much you can do with historical tie-ins and such.

Anyhow, today we hit the part where the main character starts to say things indicating his loss of faith and struggle with religious identity.

Me: If I say R.E.M. is it going to mean anything to any of you?

Blank stares abound. A couple nods, a couple head shakes.

Student One: Yeah, it's a math term!

Me: *Blank stare* Uh....no?

Student Two: Oh, Student One, it's a band.

Me: They sing a song called "Losing my Religion" I thought it was fitting...but it's all good.

I'm 26. I feel like they should get my references more often. I swear, teaching high school makes a girl feel ancient.