It is a time of Nightmares

I am not the only blogger whose school is being turned around. And I know I am not the only blogger having nightmares - really weird, really scary nightmares - that are related to this whole process.

OK, so last night's nightmare was this. I was teaching older students (they were actually adults, which I do not teach) and I had given some assignment. One student (there were about a dozen) objected to the assignment and said it wasn't "real enough" so he had modified it. If the other students didn't do - whatever - well enough (and he would judge) he would blow them up.

For some reason I didn't report him and every one came back for the second meeting.

He was haranguing us all about something. (we were in a atrium and he was on the railing of a sphere above us, yelling at us.) I was calm. The others were freaking out - but not as much as you would if someone was really going to blow you up. About like you would if you felt you couldn't do the assignment and would fail.

I convinced the majority that they had accomplished what they were asked to and they left. Then I talked him down by convincing him he had accomplished what he had set out to do - which was not blowing up people or a building, but by increasing rigor.

1) poor communication (so much of what he said I cannot remember)
2) all or nothing
3) ineffective way to increase rigor (don't know how you get THERE by terrifying everyone)

Yep, sounds like my life right now.

I was calm - but the first half, I wasn't sure how to accomplish anything except get the class out of the building. By the second class, it all clicked.

(click on this - you will want to see the whole thing)

Note: Got curious about the origin of the word nightmare. The scientific word is disambiguation - won't go there. Nightmare comes from the idea of a German demon or goblin who sat on your chest and made you have bad dreams.