i don't get it

Here are some of the things my students have said to me and other teaching colleagues today:

After two days of outlining and preparation, one of my students says, "I don't get it. What are we writing, again?"

After being given six weeks to read an independent reading book, one student announced in class, "For my book project, I read...I read...I forget what the name is."

And my favorite of the day: "Mr. Wise, when I was in fourth grade I wrote a twenty-four page novella. I'm rewriting it now, but this time it's going to be much more violent. What are we doing today?"

In case you were wondering what we were doing today, it was a final exam essay. No big deal.