Plagiarism

No, not my students. It's me. I've been posting bits of student writing on Facebook without giving anyone credit, really. I'm about to post more student writing here. Now. Can I be prosecuted for this? My doctor always asks for the latest funny school stories and encourages me to "write that book." But how do you write a book using the original words of minors and then call yourself the author? Someone let me know if I'm about to be sued! I'll stop. Promise.

Until then, these are the responses of fifth graders in answer to the following prompt: What is the best thing about being a parent?

M.--"I think it's not being grounded. They can go places they want and go on the computer or xbox when ever they want. And eat things that they want to eat."

S.--"My mom won't tell so I cannot do this assignment."

A.--"They get to stay up late every single night and hang out and watch movies."

B.--"You get really cool phones."

T.--"I think having kids is fun because you get to have them do work around the house. So if there is a big mess, the kids can clean it up."

AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE...

S.--"Well, I think the best thing about being a parent is staying up late playing video games. And at midnight you have to ask a question about the game, so you ask your spouse to wake up the oldest to come down and you ask the question and the kid gets mad at you for a week. I had this experience before. On the night of my brother's birthday, my dad stayed up until midnight playing Lego Star Wars and then my mom had to wake me up because my dad had to ask a question and here was the question: How do you save the game? It was not pretty!"