Arguing with the Teacher

via

Sometimes, when I'm making adjustments to the schedule on the front board, or passing out papers, or explaining directions, I'm faced with this:


But-Mrs.Darhower,-I-think-you-really-meant-to-do-this/write-this/say-this, didn't you now?  Because-what-you're-doing-does-not-make-sense-and-how-in-the-world-am-I-supposed-to-do-it?....and
you-obviously-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about.

(Go back now and say that to yourself in an extremely whiny voice and you'll get what I'm talking about.  If you add some huffiness in, you'll get an even better interpretation.)

To this, I reply (either out loud or in my head, because sometimes it's not worth replying and they often put two and two together on their own):

Yes, dear child.  I'm pretty sure I DO know what I'm talking about because I wouldn't tell you this/give you this/write this if I didn't mean it.  I'm not about wasting energy saying this/passing this out/writing this for nothing!

Isn't this what we do with God?   We argue, we fight, we think He has no idea what he's doing at times.  In the end though, like me with my lesson plan book, He's the one who holds the schedule and the answers.  Not us.  We can keep denying what's going on around us, but it's not going to stop it from happening.  Our job is to adjust to the change. 

This is, perhaps, the most prolific analogy I've thought of in a long time.  I suppose I should say thank you to the know-it-all, argumentative, exceptional students.