Every once in a while technology hits you with a curve ball.  Today was supposed to be an easy start to the school week.  My students were going to take their Benchmark Test and then we were going to gently ease into our new unit on the Scientific Revolution.  

2nd Period started off smoothly.  Students took their Benchmark.  We will skip over how well they did because that can be an entirely DIFFERENT post.  Then they started working on their Introduction to our new unit.  

So far, the day was going well. 

Then the green light on our wifi box light up.  Usually green signifies that something is a “go”.  Not for us.  Green is the signal for death.  That whatever you had planned, which everyone has arranged around technology, is going to hell in a hand-basket. 

I’m not going to lie, my heart stopped.  And I started hoping that it was just a fluke and that it would come back on.   

But then I started panicking. Usually when our internet goes out, our printer connection goes as well.  And today was the day I decided to save printer copies. I was only going to print the copies for the students that were seated in front of me.  Which meant that I had some serious copies to make if I was going to make it through the day. 

By some miracle, the printer worked for me!  

Did I also mention that we had a new teacher start today?  This was her first day at my school, “Welcome!” She had no copies because she wasn’t even tied to the school log-in yet! 

So I printed.  Class set for her and about 100 copies of the student handout.  Then another class set for my other fellow content teacher down the hall.  Then for my own students. 

And you want to know the crazy thing?? 

It was a good day.  The students worked well with the change in plan.  We had great class discussions about how we need to be life-longer readers and never stop learning by asking questions and observing our surroundings like the men from the Scientific Revolution did.  We would not have had those discussion if they had worked through the handout on their own like my original plan was. 

I would not have had the time to have a side-bar conversation with one class period about the Watergate Scandal and what that was.  Can I say I love my 4th period?  They ask the BEST questions!  Apparently on their school-issued calendars it mentioned the Watergate Scandal and one student was curious.  That was a great lead to later on in the lesson when we discussed questioning the narrative.  Since none of the students knew what Watergate was, I asked them how they could know what I told them was the truth.  We had a great mini-review on reliable information and how we gather it. 

I repeat, it was a good day.  Discussions were had that ventured into their personal lives.  I hope that connections were made between how people lived their lives during the 1200s-1300s in Europe and how we live ours today.  

And I would have never had this lesson if my perfectly laid plans would have worked out. 

Moral of the story: print your copies BEFORE the lesson but embrace the curveballs the internet and life throw your way.  They may turn into the lessons that change the way students think.  And that fellow teachers, is what it’s all about. 

So… tell me about what happens when the internet goes out at your school!