I got mad at my class on Friday. I was giving a quiz on lab equipment and they were cheating. Not just the look at look at your neighbor's paper cheating, but PSST! WHAT IS THAT? IT'S A TEST TUBE.
They were standing there whispering to each other.
I couldn't believe it. I mean, I know high schoolers cheat. It's pretty much a given, but to whisper during a quiz. Who thought they'd get away with that? Although, I guess they did, because besides saying, "I can hear you." I didn't do anything. I just got real mad. And after the cheating, while we were grading, they fought me on every question. "What if they didn't write flask?" "It's wrong." "But they got the first part right." "It's wrong." "Can we give half credit?" "No." "What if they called it a tray?" "It's wrong." "What if they wrote lid?" "Fine, I'll accept cover or lid." "What if they wrote neurotic instead of pneumatic?" "It's wrong." "But they were on the right track." "It's wrong." "Can we give half credit?" "No."
I'm sure that some of it was that they were testing me, because I'm the student teacher. They don't respect me as much as they do the "real" teacher. But I don't care.
Cheating is unacceptable. I'll figure something out. If I hear even a peep during the next quiz, heads are gonna role. Yeah, right, I bet. I'll just get angry again. But I'll think of something. Eventually.