Signals On!

Basic Three (B3) is sorely trying my patience. They are threading on very... thin... ice...

Mid-term exams begin this Friday, which means that mid-term reviews for exams will be going on all week. This is easier said than done, especially when your students seem to have learned absolutely NOTHING since the school term started. Don't get me wrong you still have your 2 or 3 students who always know what is going on (at least I know I didn't just imagine teaching the material), but the rest of the class obviously attended school at an alternative parallel universe. I mean, how else can you explain the "deer in headlights" look they give you when you ask a simple question (like "What color is the close button on a window?") ? Or better yet, the outrageous answers that prove that they didn't even listen to the question (Umm...ahhh... Madam! UP!). Ok so the real problem is not the alternate parallel universe, the  real problem is that they don't pay attention... to me!
This is not a relatively new problem for B3. At the end of the first term I noticed that my once "best-behaved class" was quickly becoming my "worst-behaved class". So I made the resolution to start tough and strong this term. I implemented routines and activities that would capture my class' attention and help creatively re-direct their focus back to me (without shouting or threats). I even tried some olds techniques, like "signals on" (which gets them to sit and look at me). They worked really well... for a whole week... Now, what?! Well, "if at first you don't succeed, try and try again". Which I did, with different approaches and yet the same end results! And now, I am left frustrated, exhausted and angry with B3 and their behavior.
The plain truth is, I love B3. I don't particularly feel fond of them right now, but I do love them. That is why their behavior hurts even more. I want them to do good, be good, and succeed both in my class and in life. It hurts (much like a slap in the face), not because they ignore me, but because in doing so they are missing out on so many wonderful things, the very things they learn from me. I have a lot  that I wish to teach and share with them, but there is only so much I can do for them. Only they can fill in the answers in their homework and exams. All I can do is try my best to prepare them for those tests by teaching them the material they will need to know, and hoping that when the time comes they use that knowledge to pass the test. I cannot, as much as I might want to, put myself inside them and do the work for them, they need to learn from me but do the work themselves...
And THAT is what God wants from us as well. Except that in this case He is the teacher, and I am the B3. As Oswald Chambers puts it "We don't consciously and deliberately disobey God-we simply don't listen to Him". We don't listen because we are so busy and concerned with "other things" that God's instructions never even reach our ears. We don't listen and it is DISRESPECTFUL. I might want to take the easy way out and say: "I didn't hear anything, so it's not fair that Im in trouble now!". But think about it for a minute. If a teacher can stand up in front of class and EXPECT the pupils to listen and follow directions, then why can't God expect the same from us? It is not the teacher's fault if the student chooses to doodle on their notebook during class and consequently misses writing down the homework assignment. The good teacher will always look out for the students whose attention has wondered and call to them  ("Jamie, did you hear me?"). How many times does He have to call us back to Him? How long until we finally learn to listen and pay attention to everything He says? If we love Him, shouldn't we stop whatever it is we are doing and listen as soon as He makes a sound? Don't you want to pass the class?...

God please forgive my insensitivity and disrespect. I am ready to listen, my signals are on...
Jamie