Well, today was much better. It never ceases to amaze me how some adults in this field can behave. Oh well, enough of that.
I tried introducing something new to my kids today. It was the section in Power Teaching where kids are paired, and teach each other after a short, very short, lecture/lesson. As usual with me, I got mixed results. I have a few in each class that just won't buy in. These aren't trouble-makers or anything of that sort, but the "lazy, don't care, can't get them involved in their schooling-no-matter-what" crowd. You know, the passive resistance types that will sit there like a knot on a log until you just get so frustrated you give up or do it for them. In my usual animated style (insert evil laugh here) I informed them that we could either have buy-in by the whole group, or we could go to desks in rows, have me lecture, and they could take notes, their choice entirely. :) Notice that use of student choice.
I'm having to cram a month long subject into two weeks, which I hate, and they do too because it was a subject that they all had very high interest in. (Europe) I compressed three sections of their book into a short power point, and am giving it to them fast.

I did do one thing today that might be unconventional. My power point today was on the early history of Europe, Classical Europe, and included Greece, Rome, and the rise of early Christianity. Being the sophisticated, modern, 21st century children that they are, they think that anything more than 15 years old is just dumb ol' stuff, and that really, really ancient people had no sense, sophistication, etc. I showed them a section of the movie Ben Hur, the chariot race. They loved it. Tomorrow, if there is time, I will have them write a compare and contrast piece comparing the chariot race to a modern NASCAR race. Real-life connection and very high interest for most. (I am of the opinion that no Christian should go through life without having seen this movie. I did tell the kids that if they had not seen it [and precious few had] that they needed to ask their parents to go out and rent it, and sit down as a family and watch it. A lot of the kids wrote the title down so they could get it.)