"I really like this pen," one of my students told me, grabbing it off my desk without permission. "Can I have it?"
I was hardly surprised by his impulsivity and boundary-bending, and I decided to use the situation as leverage. "Do you solemnly swear to use this pen for good?" I asked playfully. "Use it to complete your assignments thoughtfully and neatly and work hard for the rest of the class period? So help you--"
"I do!" he told me seriously.
"Then you may have it." I bestowed the pen upon him with a cheerful flourish and a smile. "Get to work! I'll check in with you in a few minutes."
As he headed back to his seat purposefully it almost seemed like the pen might do the trick, but when I touched base with him, he was off-task with nothing written.
"Hey!" I said. "You promised you were going to get some writing done!"
He looked at me, confused. "I was lying!" he explained.
I frowned, discouraged.
"I thought you knew!" he said, and handed me the pen.
I was hardly surprised by his impulsivity and boundary-bending, and I decided to use the situation as leverage. "Do you solemnly swear to use this pen for good?" I asked playfully. "Use it to complete your assignments thoughtfully and neatly and work hard for the rest of the class period? So help you--"
"I do!" he told me seriously.
"Then you may have it." I bestowed the pen upon him with a cheerful flourish and a smile. "Get to work! I'll check in with you in a few minutes."
As he headed back to his seat purposefully it almost seemed like the pen might do the trick, but when I touched base with him, he was off-task with nothing written.
"Hey!" I said. "You promised you were going to get some writing done!"
He looked at me, confused. "I was lying!" he explained.
I frowned, discouraged.
"I thought you knew!" he said, and handed me the pen.
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