Another Sign of the Apocalypse.......

Or perhaps just another sign that our students are losing their collective mind.

(If it's collective, is it one mind? Or should it be plural?) Hmmmmm.....


This incident is from one of the students from whom we never hear a peep. Sometimes literally, because he can't seem to come to school all that often. When he is there, he works steadily, behind his curtain of hair, and rarely says a word. He's not a problem student.

Today I saw him when he checked in around 10:00 or so. I knew he was there.

When 11:00 came and it was time for him to be in my class, he wasn't there. I gave it a few minutes, because sometimes students are finishing up things in other classes and neglect to come tell me they'll be a couple of minutes late. It's no biggie.

He didn't come to class, and he didn't come to class, so finally I emailed my co-workers.

"He was just in my 2nd period," came the reply.

"Not here now," I emailed back.

About 30 minutes later, he walked in my room.

Here is the conversation that ensued:

Me: Billy Bob? [That's not his real name. Names have been changed to protect the stupid.] Where were you?

Billy Bob: I was going to play hooky, but I changed my mind. [This would be perfectly normal coming from some of our students. Billy Bob, however, is not one to joke around. He wouldn't waste the energy.]

Me: No, really.

Billy Bob: Really. I was all the way at the BP station on 211, but I turned around and came back.

I can't decide whether it was an April Fools' joke or not.