Emily, though this sounds draconian, I think a pop-quiz is a good teaching tool in this case - it drives home your point from yesterday. You told them to take notes. You gave them the tools with which to do it. Et Voila - there was a reason for all of the preparation you so carefully handed to them on a silver platter.

Going to school is not just about sitting in the damn chair.

t needmorecoffee

I'm with Sox - using the talking time for a quiz.

Emily, give them the pop quiz and when they're horrified by their scores, give them the talking to with the study sheet in hand. You don't have to count the quizzes toward their final grade if you decide you don't want to, but maybe the students will learn a lesson.

My mother is going to be here any moment to help me start cleaning up the new place, and I stupidly can't stop crying. I'm sick of feeling sick, and I just called my doctor who is away until Tuesday.

Okay. I'm just such a damn softy. Which means they, rationally enough, come to expect it from me. But I think I put enough effort into it yesterday that I have the right to feel slighted by their not responding even so much as to take notes.

Maybe it's just that they feel safe -- since I didn't report any of them as being in danger of failing, and most of the seniors won't have to take the final, they don't see the need to do anything. Oh well. Enough making excuses for them. If this seems abrupt and mood-swingy, so be it.

I think abrupt is the idea - to get their attention.

What Stephanie said. Being nice shouldn't be a free pass for your students to disrespect you and the effort you put in to prepare things like study sheets for them.

give them the pop quiz and when they're horrified by their scores,

Oh, it won't take that long. It'll be just looking at the pop quiz that'll horrify them (and result in a chorus of "I lost my notes!"). Without either the notes OR having paid very close attention and having a very good memory, you can't really answer "When do you not need to define the UVW mapping?"

So my point will be made as soon as I lay the papers down. The question is whether they'll accept the lesson, or rise up and protest by.... you know what, I always overthink this shit. I can start calling parents right away if necessary.

Talkings-To at this point won't even have the benefit of making you feel better, Emily.

Talkings-To at this point won't even have the benefit of making you feel better, Emily.

This is a good point.

Vengeance feels ggooooooooodddd.

Huh. I way overthink. There was no protest at all. Fact is, almost every other teacher they have is organized and fairly strict, so this is nothing new for them in general. It's just that I'm a total failure as a teacher.

Oops, did I just say that? I mean disorganized and lenient. Crap, this is not a good week for me.