Me: “do we have our listening ears on?”
Student: “I do but this one (pointing to his right ear) is on auto pilot so I’m only half listening today.”

While standing outside my classroom door with a student after emptying the recycling bin in the class…..
Student walks ahead of me and stops at closed door and starts whining and crying ( hands are full from carrying bin).
Me: “now what can we do to solve this problem instead of whining?”
The student immediately puts his forehead on the door handle an tries to open it.
Me: “well that wasnt the exact solution I had in mind. How about you try asking for help.”
Student: “Clifford can you open the door?”