6 posts tagged “students”

The biggest difference this year is that I'm focused much more on the students and much less on myself.  I'm seeing the possibilities of each individual student in my classroom and how they can help each other.  I'm being more understanding, more patient (so far, at least).  I'm not scared.  Honestly, I don't remember all that much about the first days of last year.  I feel like maybe I was going through it in a haze, worried and obsessing over everything. 

"I'm sitting in the lunchroom, seeing the faces of my former students and grinning like a fool.  Even the ones whose presence I dreaded.  They make me smile.  I want to see their faces next year.  I want to watch them walk across the stage in their silly hats the year after that.  I'll cry like a baby.  THIS is why I came back.  I didn't know it at the time, but this is it." 

Now, I have no idea if this feeling will last for any length of time, but I can hope.  And when the days get bad again, (and they no doubt will, though hopefully only briefly) I can look at this and remember the feeling and know that eensy tiny little moments like this will make it worthwhile.  I can see that I'm getting pretty mushy here, and that could be because I'm a bit sleep-deprived and horribly sentimental, but I like it.  So I'm going to wallow in this ridiculous, mushy, horribly sentimental feeling as long as the damn thing lasts.  Or til I go to sleep, at the very least. 

Hopefully I won't be embarrassed enough to delete or hide this when I wake up with a closer-to-fully-functional brain.  I totally almost cried in the cafeteria today.  I am a nutcase.  Thank you.  Good night. 

I can't remember if I've posted about this student before.  I don't think I have.

At the beginning of the year, he was horribly disruptive in class, wouldn't do his work, and every time I tried to (gently) remind him to do so, he'd respond belligerently, "I don't know why you talking to me.  Get out of my face."  (or something like that)
I pulled him aside innumerable times and explained calmly how his behavior was hostile and not constructive, how he could do this work if he just tried, etc. etc. etc.  I called home and talked to his mother, and she explained that he'd been having these same sorts of problems with teachers for a good while now.  I don't know if she had anything to do with the change in his behavior, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did. 
Finally (FINALLY), he came around.  He started doing his work, asking for help, being (mostly) good in class, and his grades have skyrocketed.  I am so proud of him.  SO PROUD.
I used to dread his class because he was in it, and now I look forward to seeing him.

What is one change you can make to improve as a teacher?

I've been thinking about this fairly constantly for a while and every waking moment this week.  I think I foster a culture of negativity in my classroom.  I encourage and reward students, but I feel like I dole out negative consequences far more often than positive ones.  The simple fact is that these students have been in school for at least ten years.  They know which behaviors are acceptable and which are not.  There are reasons why they act the way they do, and those reasons are the things that I want to find.  Finding the root of a problem seems like a more effective way of dealing with it than constantly pruning the branches and hoping that it will somehow stop growing. 
Basically, the one change I want to make is to be able to understand my students better, mainly to help them understand themselves.  I want to find and address the motivations for the different behaviors my students display, not just the behaviors.  I want to be able to encourage them more.  I want them to believe that I believe in them.  Sorry.  Got off on a tangent there.  I basically want supermagicalxrayglasses that will allow me to see my students' souls. 

On another note, I think I dreamed of glue sticks last night. 

um, sometimes.  why?

cause that's what you smell like.  you smell like cinnamon.

oh...

(courtesy of L, halfway through first block this morning)

it was just so random that i had to share. 

Ok. I'm going to go ahead and admit it.  I have two biggest classroom management challenges.  They seem somewhat contradictory. 

#1 (lately) is my temper.  I get frustrated and angry.  I sometimes let it show.  I'm certainly not the kindest of teachers sometimes.  I let my attitude get very negative, and by showing my students that negative attitude, I cut myself off at the knees.  I speak harshly to a student, and that student is definitely going to be defensive or, at the very least, uncooperative.  I hadn't really noticed this until this past week or so.  I really think that I haven't been quite so bitter before.  (I'm taking a mental health day on Monday. I think it'll be better for me and for the students)  I have been trying lately (ie today) to be more positive in my interactions with all of my students.  (I'm so glad that most of you got started on your Do Now when I entered the room, etc)  It just feels so completely ridiculous to deal with the same problems with the same students every time I see them.  Deep breaths.  Biting my tongue.  PATIENCE.

#2 is my inconsistency.  I wobble.  Sometimes when I warn, I forget to mark it down.  If I forget to mark it down, I have no way of knowing for sure that I did warn.  I give too many second (third, fourth) chances.  I hate sending kids to the office.  Hate it.  They miss class, I lose time.  It makes sense to me that if I send them to the office, they'll hold it against me and be less likely to be cooperative in the future (simply because that's how I would react).  Of course, if I don't send them out, they'll think that the behavior is acceptable (which it isn't).  I have a few habitual troublemakers in my classes.  When I enforce my consequences for them, they complain that I'm singling them out.  It doesn't quite make me crazy, but it certainly causes some significant self-doubt. 

I'm a work in progress.  At least I'm thinking about it and making an effort to improve.  It doesn't feel like I am sometimes, but I am. I promise.

an uplifting thought for Friday afternoon

My favorite student is Z.  She's always smiling, always cheerful.  She does her work and hands it in on time.  She's good-natured about the misbehavers in her class.  She stops by after school to do extra credit work.  She keeps working until she understands the material.  She asks questions when she's confused by a concept.  She stays on task.  She giggles (quietly).  She has talent. The students had to do projects on their summer reading books.  She did a book report type board on Tears of a Tiger.  It's one of those big cardboard boards like you would use for a science fair project.  She covered the entire board in an enormous drawing of a tiger's face.  It's awesome.  It's going in the hall, for sure. 
I think a good bit of her dedication to school comes from her mother.  Her mom seems very involved in her life.  She wants to know how and what her daughter is doing.  She makes sure Z does her assignments and gets them handed in on time.