On Being Divergent....

The students have been assigned a book trailer for Divergent. It's like a movie trailer, but made about a book. They've had a lot of interesting insights so far on the book and its many themes.

Bob: "Can we ask homeless people to be in our video? Like, as the factionless?"

Me: (severe tone) "Use your good judgment, Bob."

Bob: (thinks for a second, then turns to his group) "Let's do it!"

and later...

Bob: "Are we allowed to have guns in our video?"

Me: "Um, I don't care, but if you use guns, you HAVE to ask your parents first."

Bob: (haha) "Yeah, okay." (eye roll)

Me: "I will find out if you didn't ask your parents first."

Bob: "Uh, sure."

Me: "Seriously."

Bob: "Okay-ay." (smirks at friends)

Me: "If I see a gun in your video, I will call your parents and ask them if they were aware you were using one."

Bob: (stops) "Oh. Well. Okay then."

Me: "What assumption are we supposed to always be operating under?"

Bob: "Ms. Sefcik is smarter than we are."

Me: "That's the one."


(handing out papers)

Nick: (seeing that James has earned a 100) "James, you're such a nerd."

James: "Sorry."

Me: "What?! Don't apologize for doing well. What kind of friends are you?"

Nick: "The kind that bring him down so that he can pick himself back up."

James: "It just hurts."


During afternoon study hall:
(a roll of pink duct tape has surfaced in the back of the room)

Me: (looking over at a girl who now has a mouth covered in pink duct tape) "HEY!"

(both boys look up midway to putting another piece of duct tape on the girl)

Dan: "Yeah?"

Me: "Whose duct tape is that?"

Dan: (points at Hilary) "It's hers."

Me: "Oh. Okay."

(they continue)

(a few minutes later)

Hilary: "Mmmmeehhhharmmmmmmm!"

Me: (look up) "Oh my god!"

(Jack's head is now wrapped with duct tape)

Hilary: (rips off her tape) "You're ripping out his fro!"

Dan: "Oh, man. Haha--look at those little hairs!" (shows another boy the tape he just took off Jack's head)

Jack: "Rwmarrrahh!"

Dan: "Good thing his mouth was taped shut. I'm pretty sure that was a bad word."

Me: "Okay. Given Hilary back her tape. We're done now."

Jack: (pulls tape partway off his mouth) "Wait! Can he please tape my legs first?"

Me: "You're so weird. Why do you want him to tape your legs?"

Jack: (Jack and Dan look at each other) "Because it's fun." (obviously)