Fundamental Order

Ya know, it's the little things about teaching that really give insight into human behavior. For instance, when kids hand in assignments, they make individual piles of tests and answers, or maybe worksheets and answer sheets. Inevitably, in classes with low averages, the piles are a jumbled mess that I have to organize before grading or putting in a folder. Conversely, in classes with relatively high averages, the piles are much more ordered, even to the point where sometimes all papers face the same way and require no organization on my part. It's as if there is a fundamental order that's understood in the high-achieving classrooms. The behavior problems and failure rates in low-achieving classrooms are obviously rooted in a group's sense of order, in what's right and wrong, and manifested in that little pile of jumbled papers.

Curious.