Papers Flying!

In desperate need of some of Monday humor I thought I would share a funny story from last year's social studies class. Please keep in mind that I have a dark, dry sense of humor before reading the remainder of this blog. Last year I had a student that suffered from a variety of issues including ADHD, bi-polar disorder, and a bit of schizophrenia. Often, this student could be seen talking to his pencil, himself, his desk, or pretty much anything that would listen. He was also known for throwing tantrums for a variety of reasons, and it was sometimes difficult to tell exactly what may set him off. Anyway, I quickly figured out how to work with this student and experienced very few problems overall.
About a week after the class had taken a big exam I passed back their graded exams at the end of class. A habit I had developed with his class since his grades were often not very good, and I tried to minimize the time he would have to flip out before leaving my room. Right after I handed this student his exam back, an exam that he failed, he took the papers...looked at his grade, and immediately threw the exam in the air while screaming at the top of his lungs, "Whattttt!!!!" He then ran out of the classroom. I followed him into the hall to check on him, and ask why he was so upset (I had to act as if it wasn't obvious to keep him from flipping out even more). The conversation went as follows:
Me: Dude, why are you so upset?
Student: Because I failed that test.
Me: It's ok...many students did not do well, try not to worry about it. You'll have more chances to bring your grade up.
Student: (after making some strange noise) I studied for that test. I failed that test. (and then screaming at the top of his lungs) I HATE THAT TEST!!

And so goes the joys of middle school teaching!