Liars

I know I shouldn't be this upset over the following incident but this just got to me. I was gone from school Monday celebrating my 35th wedding anniversary. On Tuesday when I returned, I was getting ready to give an open book test to my English III class. It was multiple guess so we were going to use SCANTRON.

For any of you who don't know, SCANTRON is an answer the teachers' prayers. The student uses a no. 2 pencil and fills in little circles on an answer sheet; then, the teacher runs the key through a machine and feeds the students' answer sheets through. It marks them, gives a score, and even gives them the correct answer if the teacher wants it that way. ZIP, ZIP, ZIP!!!!! Since I require my students to use blue or black ink(it's an English teacher thing), I furnish pencils for test taking.

Imagine my surprise to find my pencil can empty. It had had at least 20-25 pencils in it on Friday. I mentioned this to my 3rd hour and 4th hour classes and was informed that someone from my last hour speech/creative writing class had absconded with the goods. It was a sophomore boy. I have 3 sophomore boys. I confronted the class last hour. They were in a state of shock after I got finished. They felt the total wrath of Mrs. E. They were not allowed to talk. They sat for the entire hour without talking. This in and of itself was a miracle because I usually spend lots of time trying to get them to quiet down and get on task.

I confronted the young men who had been implicated. I pretty well knew which one had done the deed. I thought I would give him the chance to confess. Now here is the kicker. He lied through his teeth. He swore up and down yesterday, as did his friends, that he had nothing to do with it. Today some of my juniors told me that he had taken them and had thrown them out the car window on a country road. Why? I have no idea. I don't know if the story is true or not, but today he kept denying it. The guys in the room looked on in disbelief and told him to give it up. He continued to deny any knowledge of the incident.

I really don't understand this. When caught lying, why wouldn't you just give it up? When you know that everyone around you knows that you are lying, why would you keep denying it? What would make you think that the teacher would suddenly look at you and say, "Oh, well of course you didn't do it; you've lied to me on many other occasions but not today. I know you are innocent and that these mean boys who say they are your friends are now just trying to get you into trouble"? I HATE THAT THEY THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE I AM OLD I AM ALSO STUPID!!!!!!!

If the kid had come out with it, confessed and offered to replace the pencils, it would have been all over. I am a forgiving person and I know that kids do this type of thing to be "cool". Hey we all have our stories of how we put one over on Old Lady Such and Such back in the day. However, if we got caught, we fessed up. We knew the consequences if we didn't. They don't fear consequences. They actually believe it is okay and that they will get by with it. I am not talking about all of my students but this class of sophomores has some dandies.

I know they are kids. I know that they have not been raised the way I was. I know many of their parents. Their parents would not have lied to me. This is a new generation and

Their Lying Really Gripes My Soul!!!!!

They want to be treated as grown ups. Right!!!!! I tell them every year that if they are going to do the deed, they better be ready to stand up and take responsibility for their actions if they are caught. That's how you earn the respect and right to be called a grown up. Accepting responsibility for your actions is a sign of maturity. Hmmmmmmm!!! I think that will be the quote of the week for the next 9 weeks. Maybe they will get the message. Maybe? Probably not. But a gal can dream.