"All Hail the Queen"

I tell you, I have FINALLY gotten my AP classes trained. AP students, in case you don't know, are Advanced Placement students who will take a test at the end of the course to try to receive college credit. Well, they are usually quite intelligent, somewhat lazy, and very full of themselves.

Many times when I have given a quiz, half the class will want to "debate" a.k.a. whine about why we shouldn't have the quiz or why another answer should also be correct. "But I didn't know about it," or "If you really think about it, C works, too," and the "didn't know" one always gets me bristled up because I give them a calendar with a FULL SIX weeks of plans with quizzes indicated AND write it on the board everyday for a week before the quiz. I mean, really, if you're old enough to be responsible enough to drive, look at your calendar. As a friend says, "Those who can read, should."

A few weeks ago, tired of the situation, I made an announcement that just came to me in a flash of brilliance. "Listen ladies and gentlemen. This is not a democracy. It is a monarchy, and I am the queen." This was especially clever considering our stems for the week included stems in democracy and monarchy.

Today a "debate" was beginning to break out when one of the students told another, "it's not a democracy, so shut up." (Kid #1 is ALWAYS whining/debating, and Kid #2 and most of the class are sick of it.). I corrected the "shut up," and smiled. Until, another couple of students said, "Why don't we just call it a dictatorship?" Then, I launched into a lecture of denotation vs. connotation for dictator and monarch or "queen" as I prefer.

Now, I'm trying to get them to bow and say, "All Hail Queen White!" I'll let you know when that happens, but be watching for pigs to fly...