Little Bit of Sunshine...

So, as you can see, today is a wonderful day. This is the first sunshine that we have seen on the forecast or in the sky for around 10 days... And according to the forecast for the next 7, it is likely to be the only sun we see for another week. The sun brought warmth and excitement to everyone I saw coming to school this morning. However, there seemed to be fewer than normal making that 8:30 pilgrimage. Nothing too surprising the day after a pay day, in the Spring when the sun almost never sets and dusk last for many hours before the sun starts "rising" again at 3 am.

I was still a little disappointed. My students have been doing their first school board standardized English exams this week. I was missing a few people on the first day but made a little extra time for them on Tuesday to try those sections. So, as of yesterday, everyone had completed to the best of their ability, the first 4 blocks of the exam.

Enter this morning. From my 11 students, only 5 came through the doors. All chipper and beaming at the start telling each other stories of last night's escapades in the streets in Inuktitut as I did the attendance. I understood bits and pieces, and it started to make it a little bit more clear, where the rest of my students were that morning. Co-op dividends were handed out last night... money money money... often equaling party, party, party all night...

5 minutes into the exam, I looked and saw the adrenaline wear out of my brightest language student, a pool of drool forming on his desk and every attempt to wake him up was in vain. Fortunately the other four were in great condition, doing well and focused on the task. "J" on the other hand, had written 4 lines before crashing. His eyes were so heavy he could only open one at a time. He hadn't slept yet. He had stayed awake all night biking around and doing mischievous little things with his friends. I waited till the end of the first period and when the others took a quick break for water and the toilet, I shook him finally to awareness and insisted that he go home, "Come back later when you have finally slept, your bed is MUCH more comfortable than this chair!" He barely moved, I could tell he was at the point of so much exhaustion that the thought of walking home was more than he thought his legs could handle. He finally got up and left. Twenty minutes into the second class a knock at my door from another teacher informed me that he was actually asleep in the hallway with his coat on in the fetal position. Her class was circling him like vultures and desperately asking me to wait so they could take a picture first.

Standardization. In the Springtime. I've been caused to think deeply on this concept. I know exams do not work well up here. It's always been a tough sell. They like them secretly deep down but they do not tend to change their lifestyle to make them a priority. Now with standardized exams, I really do not know how we can get them to really reflect the learning and competency of our students when they are simply not present to show what they have. I guess this is just what teacher have to think about. Someday there will be an effective recipe, and something that really works...

So, sunny days...