Final exams start today.

It honestly just blows my mind that we’ve come so far, so fast.

Occasionally at this point in the year, students tend to leave tokens of their appreciation,1 sometimes in writing, sometimes in drawings, and sometimes sprawling all up over my whiteboards. Here are some of the more memorable end-of-year mémoires2that I’ve managed to capture over the first seven-and-a-half:

1. and sometimes, their frustration [↩]
2. along with other assorted moments [↩]

This last week of classes usually consists of SERIOUS study time for students as they prep for final exams.

Occasionally, however, students will take the opportunity to sign yearbooks. And socialize. Or play cards. Or anything that does not involve doing actual work. You get the idea.

Six years ago, at the tail-end of Season One, my 1st period Pre-AP Algebra II class introduced me to one of the most entertaining distractions ever concocted:

I distinctly remember the kids in that class convincing me to play the game on the big projector screen, to which I thought, “what the heck, why not.”

If you have never played the game,1 let me tell you, it earns its moniker: It is crazy impossible. Students had to delicately walk me through the first 18 questions. Then came the following gem, question 19:

The hint is the phrase on the painting that reads “BOGGY”. This requires the player to take the mouse and click on the paint buckets with the colors spelled out by that acronym: Blue-Orange-Green-Green-Yellow. After having that much explained to me, I looked at the class like an overly-confident n00b and proudly proclaimed,

“I got this”.

I proceeded to click on the bottom-right paint bucket, which is blue, of course.

Well, at least it LOOKS blue if you’re colorblind.

This is the very next thing that everyone in that class saw:

After hearing a few scattered gasps of “oh what just happened”, I recall all 30 students looking at me with puzzled looks of bewilderment, and when they realized what had just happened,2 everyone had a good laugh, and then proceeded to go back to working on their final exam reviews.

I’m not sure why I suddenly recall this fun moment from my first full year of teaching, but it just goes to show that often it is the moments that have nothing to do with teaching math that we remember years on down the road.

1. If you’re on a computer with Flash, try it here… otherwise, there is an iOS app on the app store, but it’s not free. Uber-kudos if you can even make it to #19. [↩]
2. Yes, they all knew I was colorblind, as it came up in a probability lesson in April. [↩]

So of course, after going on my “font-control” rant last week, I got a paper this morning written completely in Comic Sans.1

If you’re wondering about the snippets on the lower-middle and lower-right… let’s just say we have some very talented2 kids.

1. If you’re reading this, thinking of doing the same: don’t. It’s not funny anymore. [↩]
2. and sneaky / borderline creepy [↩]

After letting students know that I will be at a different campus next year, here is a smattering of the things that came my way this week:

• So I hear you’re abandoning us. ABANDONING!1
• Once a Mav, always a Mav.
• Is it cuz we’re not good enough for you? That must be it.2
• So if we burn down that new building that you’re moving into, will you have to come back here?3
• (This was from a coworker): Hi Brian. Or should I say, “Benedict”.4
• (This was from a student): Hey Brian.
  Me: Stop calling me by my first name!
  Student: Why? You don’t even work here anymore.5
• Round Rock doesn’t deserve you.6
• I’m going to buy some glitter and THROW it at you. (When I asked “why glitter”…) Because glitter sticks to you and no matter how hard you try to clean it off, it’ll still be there. So when you see the glitter on your skin and clothes, you’ll be reminded of the day that I threw glitter at you.7

And this is probably the last time I will mention the “Divaz”:8

Earlier this week as I was taking attendance, I noticed that “Diva #3” was absent. I asked her friends if they knew where she was, and two of her co-divas responded almost simultaneously:

Diva #1: Today’s her birthday so she’s shopping all day.
Diva #2: She’s sick today.

This is what friends are for.

1. This is from a student I had never before met, and is graduating this year, to boot. [↩]
2. Awwww :( [↩]
3. Horrible!!! [↩]
4. Ouch! [↩]
5. Double Ouch!!! [↩]
6. This one tugged at my heart a little bit, not gonna lie. [↩]
7. This one required some premeditation, I think. [↩]
8. On a side note, I asked students to sign my yearbook this week, and three of the divas did so. What impressed me was that next to their names, they signed as “diva #1” “diva #2” and “diva #3” — and they all signed as the correct diva number, based on this post. Funny! [↩]

That was a Friday.

Our on-level Precal classes were giving a partner quiz, and my schedule that day consisted of back-to-back-to-back Precal classes.1

That day, I put in for a sick/personal day to stay home and recoup,2 while one of my mentors, Norma Munoz, watched my students take their vectors quiz in Precal.

That was the last time that I missed class.

Until today, when I attended a mandatory all-day workshop to review the upcoming changes to the Texas education standards. Being a district-wide event, it was actually nice to see faces from other campuses that we don’t get to converse with nearly often enough.

Final exams begin a week from tomorrow for seniors. With preparations for graduation underway, it was recently brought to my attention that the entire senior class top-10 was a student of mine this year in AP Statistics. 34 This is merely a noteworthy item, as I am grateful for all of my students — not just those that finished in the top ten — but it is pretty crazy to think about, nonetheless.

1. That was also my first semester of teaching AP Statistics, which was an absolute bear. [↩]
2. Curiously, I recall that all three of the on-level Precal teachers were “sick” that day. [↩]
3. This was actually brought to my attention on the morning of our AP Exam this past Friday, when all 10 of them were actually in my room at the same time — along with about 30 other kids who decided to show up for a last-second cram session [↩]
4. Incidentally, this has never happened to me before, and will almost certainly never happen again. [↩]