Um

We have a thing in our classroom where we try not to start answers or questions with "um".  I often find myself repeating, "'Um' is not a word," and having students try again.  For some reason it is really hard for people to break the habit of filling empty, quiet pauses with the sound of a non-word.  I understand in England, they say, "Er," instead.  If we can make our oral communication clearly and improve our speech-making, these kids will be more employable in the future.

When this student wore this shirt, I thought about how perfect it was for our class.  Stating that Um is "The Element of Confusion," plays on the design of the Periodic Table of the Elements in chemistry.