Frustration

I can't ever remember being so frustrated with students before. It's as if they don't listen. It's as if they don't care. It's as if they expect everything to be done for them. Oh wait.....that's exactly how they feel.

I realize they are only 9, but that doesn't mean they can just sit their and be waited on hand and foot. I'm so incredibly tired of being asked a question about something that I've already explained 3 times. If anyone cared to listen, they would know what they are supposed to do. I hate explaining something and then repeating those same instructions to every kid in class, one person at a time.

And no I will not answer the question for you. It's a test! Figure it out yourself! It's shocking that a problem that they have seen at least 3 times before can suddenly confound them when they see it on a test. But I can't subtract 6 from 0. What am I supposed to do? Borrowing? What is this crazy concept you are talking about? I've never heard about it before!

Not to mention the student who is in a race to complete his test before everyone else. He turns it in, covered in scribbles, which I waded through to grade. 10/27 points. Epic fail! Yet, when he retakes the test, sitting right next to me, without any help at all....he aced it. 27/27. 100%. Why is it impossible for him to focus for 20 minutes and do it correctly the first time around? It frustrates me that he knows how to do it. He just won't.

By the time a student hits 3rd grade they should be able to copy words without having spelling issues or even mixing up lines. We wrote Haikus yesterday. Great Haikus. Beautiful Haikus. Yet somewhere between the piece of paper where everything was written correctly, had the correct spelling, and the right number of syllables per line and the poster that they were copying them to, chaos happened. Lines got switched around, one girl had the 7 syllable line first even though it was obviously written second on here paper. Words were suddenly misspelled. Syllables were added or deleted. How hard can it be to copy something word for word from a paper to a poster? Apparently it is as hard for them as they would find physics. And that's not the only place they have trouble with copying from 1 thing to another. On the same freaking page!! A singular noun is given and the have to make it plural. On the line right next to the word. But what actually happens is a lot of misspelled words and half of them aren't plural. Why is it so difficult? I should not have to make the assignment idiot proof for them to complete it. It's already too easy. I could write the answers to a test on the board for them to write on their paper and half the class would still fail the test! 

The worst part about this frustration? It's only October. I still have 7 more months with these students and I don't see it getting any better. If you see me beating my head against a wall, just let me be. I will either get it out of my system or cause enough brain damage that I won't have to deal with it anymore.