you find courage in the most unlikely places...

in a meeting today with the principal and some of my students involved in plagiarizing a paper for my class, one of my students showed grit and made me really respect him as an individual. he had copied a significant portion of his paper from two other students, so when the charge came down from the principal, he took full responsibility. now, my principal can be a really intimidating guy, so this was a pretty brave move.

after having their punishment options explained, we went back to the class, where the kid promptly asked for a pass to go to the restroom and throw up. yep. gave him the pass.

so, these three kids each have one day of out-of-school suspension... and it goes on their academic record with the state. moral of the story: don't plagiarize!!!! it makes ME nauseous to think about this following them around in the system.