Today (May 15) is the final day of my students taking their 6th grade State Test. Woooo Whoooo!! I can just smell the intoxicating aroma of summer’s freedom blowing sweetly in the air. I can hear the gentle tip toeing of summer coming closer and closer; but I digress.
This is THE State Test that is given, so ALL Educators are encouraged to actively monitor. This means that all of our time is spent walking around the room in order to pay attention to whatever students are doing. You should be able to see if students are sleeping, working, bubbling in their answers, talking, or just staring and doing nothing. You are supposed to be aware of what these students are doing at all times, and be aware of when they need you.
Since I am actively monitoring, I see everything! As I was walking around the room making sure these diligent 6th graders were working, I looked across the room and noticed one particular student. He was wiggling his nose and sniffling, so I was waiting for him to give me the signal of needing tissue. Unfortunately, this child wasn’t interested in tissue.
My eyes widened as he began to use his right pointer finger to dig in his left nostril for potential treasure. Behold! He discovered a 14 Karat nugget of Gross. In shock, I continued to watch as this boy placed his “bejeweled” finger inside of his lips and continued on as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary. May I remind you that this is a 12 year old child of 6th grade; not a 5 year old in his Kindergarten class.
Big eyed, I frowned, shook my head, and silently cried out “No” all while the child’s finger was moving to nose and then to mouth. No one heard me… no one saw me… and no one would know my disgust for what I had just witnessed. No one would know why my silent tears were falling. I was the one that had to collect this child’s testing materials. His test booklet, answer document, pencils, highlighters, and anything else . I would have to touch these things after he completed his test. Germ-X don’t fail me now! Looking at the bright side of this situation, at least he didn’t place the booger underneath his desk.
Kat's Eye View 