Parrots!

I think I have come to believe that some of my students are not attending my classes to learn. Yeah, sure I have to take responsibility and manage the classroom, but if they don't understand what I am teaching or what they are saying then what is the difference? I guess I would not feel this way if the grading policies were based on performance of the students rather than on what the parents want. Either way, I have found a fun way to amuse myself and take my mind off of many of the various annoyances that inevitably drive me nuts.

This week I noticed that one of my former students that actually "knows" one word of English remarkably sounds like my late grandmother's African Grey Parrot. Every day I walk in the building after lunch to the sound of "Hello" from "Kevin" one of my former students. After the initial greeting there is nothing but the Korean equivalent meaning "I don't understand."

It was then that I decided to train the kids to repeat some new ridiculous phrases that at least make me smile everyday. The only caveat is that they have to say them if they want to get out of the classroom, which all of of the students can't wait to do. So two to three minutes before the end of the class the kids put their books away and have to sit and wait to be called on before they recite one of many parrot phrases.

Thus far, as I walk the halls to my office, I can hear other students passing on the magical phrases that will garner them an early exit... "Polly wants a cracker!"; "Shiver me timbers!"; "Who is a pretty boy!" all resonate down the halls and it makes me laugh endlessly. There is one habit that my late grandmother's parrot did do that I am not going to teach my kids, and that is mimicking the stupid fire alarm that went off quite often because of the family's cooking.

If anyone has some good parrot phrases that they want to pass along, I'd sure appreciate them. Have a good week! I look forward to hearing from you soon.