The other night I made my biggest teaching gaffe ever. I was teaching thirteen teenagers some very basic classroom language with the help of a slightly blurry worksheet. One of the students pointed at the picture of a pencil sharpener and asked what it was since it wasn't clear based on the picture. All the students looked up at me at the same time as I said, "That's a pencil sharpener." At the same time I made a fist with one hand and stuck out my index finger with the other. I then repeated "pencil sharpener" as I attempted to make a pencil sharpening gesture by inserting my index finger into my fist and turning it. Well, it took only a half second for every student to start giggling uncontrollably at the clearly sexual-ish gesture. It took another half second for me to wince and shake my head, clearly knowing I made a teaching gaffe.
On a side note to any teenagers who might be reading this: If you ever put your "pencil" into a "sharpener" and it gets grinded (like in a pencil way, not in a fun way), I promise you won't be laughing.
