Teacher's threat is SO scary.

Tom is an exuberant, funny, loquacious student in one of my English classes.  He keeps us amused, but he also keeps us distracted.  It is all I can do to keep him on track and working, and sometime even my best efforts deliver but poor results.

Tom was supposed to be writing an essay for a Veteran’s Day celebration.  He had been ‘working’ on this assignment for two days.  On the third day of class, he sat down at his computer, opened his essay, and told me, “Miss Hall, I need help with words.”

“With words?” I repeated, walking over to him.

“Yes, I don’t know how to begin.  I know what I want to say, but I cannot say it.”

I looked at his computer screen.  In these two days of class, all he has produced was his cover page with basic information like name, grade, etc., and a title.  Granted, he spent the first day researching the topic (D-Day and Battle of the Bulge), but I had expected at least an introduction by now.

I told him to start writing.  The ideas would come out rough at first, but once you get started, words often come easier and you can smooth things out later.

I moved on to another task.  Another student asked something, I helped him figure it out.  Tom was curious in all things but his paper.  He listened as another student made a phone call to find out if a poem would be acceptable.  I looked over at him from my desk where I was entering attendance.

“Get to work, Tom.”

“I – I will.”  He began messing with his chair.  The back pivots a little, tilting to allow someone to lean backwards while sitting in it, and he was pressing it back, hard, with his hands.

“Don’t bend that chair back, Tom, you’ll break it.  Another chair has already been broken like that.”

“Sorry."  He turned around in his chair and leaned back, bending the back of the chair with his body.  He looked over his shoulder at me.  “How do you like how I’m using the chair now?”

“Tom, I’m about to get up and walk over to you.”

That got him to turn around and face his computer.  “No, don’t do that,” he said.  “Save your knees.”

And finally, he began to type.