Case of the Mondays

No matter how long the weekend, it always seems that my students are extra sluggish on Mondays. The simplest questions and tasks require so much effort; oftentimes, it is painful to watch. As I looked out into the small crowd of sleepy, glazed over faces this morning, I was reminded a of very funny moment on the Texas History trip that I wanted to share.

One boy on the trip celebrated his birthday the day before we left. He was already so excited about the trip, that I wondered if the trip and birthday might be a little too much excitement for a seventh grader to handle. (This student informed me that he "had been looking forward to the Texas history trip since [he] was in fourth grade" when he started attending West Dallas.) Sure enough, I was right. Apparently he did not sleep at all the night before we left. He had tried to sleep, but his excitement and the anticipation of having to wake up early prevented it. All day I waited for him to fall asleep on the van or show some signs of crankiness, but they never came. I asked him at dinner if there was ever a time when he got so tired that he just crashed. He thought for a second, and without the slightest bit of sarcasm replied, "Only in your class, but mainly on Mondays." Unfortunately, that was a little too true to be funny for me, but everyone else cracked up.