This past week in class we talked about various awkward situations people dread encountering in AP English. Some of the more prevalent fears include paying for a book, slip-ups during discussions, and what to say when Ms. Serensky slowly walks around the room to show everyone the picture of the poet we studied over the weekend. I personally find the last situation particularly problematic because I feel like we are supposed to say something, but I never know what. So I usually end up making a less than clever remark, such as “her husband looks like a woman.” But, despite all the stress caused by our efforts to avoid awkwardness, I know that we could really have it so much worse in terms of awkward situations. First of all, if anyone has ever watched The Office, you should know that one single episode is about 57 times more awkward than any situation one comes across in daily life. As for English classes, my mom had the awkward experience to top all awkward experiences in high school. My mom’s English teacher her sophomore year had a reputation for acting somewhat off-beat. However, he tended to take quirkiness to the extreme. On the day of a test, the class nervously entered the room ready to struggle through the period. However, no one seemed to know where the teacher was. The students started talking, saying things like, “he can’t give us the test now, we won’t have enough time. What is he gonna do, fail us all?” or “he is so weird, let’s just leave now.” Ten minutes passed in which the students discussed his odd behavior and planned how to avoid taking the test without getting in trouble. All of a sudden, the closet door flung open and the teacher jumped out screaming “Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!” at the top of his lungs. He has been hiding in the closet the entire time, listening to what the students said about him. Throughout the remainder of the year he would repeat comments he heard the students say about him while he hid in the closet. Awkward? Yes. Uncomfortable? Yes. Just plain strange? Absolutely. So if you ever think you made a fool out of yourself in AP English, just remember this awkward situation and you should feel a lot better in comparison.
Wow that is so awesome, your mom's high school english teacher sounds brilliant. What a crafty way to learn what the students really think about a teacher. As well as his tactic worked in your mom's class, I do not think it would work as well for Ms. Serensky. If we came into class on the day of an essay and Ms Serensky was hiding in the closet in her room, no words would be spoken about her. I feel like we know where we stand with each other; we are somewhat afraid of her and she knows it. So, no one would want to say anything negative about Ms. Serensky in fear that she would some how find out (with the camera she has in the corner above her desk). And anyway there is not anything bad to say about Ms. Serensky.
ReplyDelete