It’s common for students to walk into class before the bell and as they make their way to their assigned seats to ask, “Are we taking notes, Mister?”
I usually chuckle. They know what that means, because we have notes almost every day. Part of what I’m teaching them is how to communicate well, and that includes writing. (I told them this on day-one, and it’s written in the syllabus.) Even though they might not master the skills, they will almost certainly remember clearly (which is distinct from “fondly”) that Algebra 2 class where they filled a notebook with daily notes.
So it was no surprise this day when I heard, “Are we taking notes, Mr. Hasan?”
“Why yes, we are!”
“Ok good,” the student said.
This, I didn’t expect.
“Good?”
“Yes. I love your notes.”
“Love?”
“Yes, you write like you talk.”
Ok then.