Last night, my CT e-mailed me saying that she would be gone today due to an illness. I was excited because I would get to take over the classes again (I took over last Wednesday). Everything went great last Wednesday. I don't know what happened today.
My first two classes went fine. I was able to explain their work to them and they worked quietly on it. Third period was when the $hit hit the fan.
Third period is normally a loud class anyways. Today they were working on their research papers. I explained what needed to be done and told them when it was due, and told them that they needed to work the rest of the hour. I told them that it was okay if they talked quietly, but to not get too loud. That didn't work.
They started to get loud and I politely told them "Hey Guys, noise level is a little loud". That got them quiet for about five minutes. I repeated the same mantra another two times before the substitute got fed up.
The substitute, feeling the need to step in, got the attention of the class and gave them a speech on how rude they were being and that they needed to respect me when I told them something. Some of them looked shocked that he said that. Others laughed. I felt embarrassed that the sub had to step in.
Then, the unbelievable happened. They started talking AGAIN. I looked at the sub who looked back and me and I yelled, "Seriously! He just gave you guys a lecture on respect and listening and being quiet and then you continue to talk! Just sit there! I don't want ANYONE to talk. Just sit there!"
I freaked the kids out. They had never heard me yell before. I had always been pretty calm in my demeanor until this incident. I was so disappointed in them. I was livid. When I get ticked I cry, so here I am holding back tears and pissed off.
I eventually calmed down and I e-mailed my teacher to tell her how the first half of the day went. She has had problems with the class and the noise level, so we made a new seating chart. They aren't going to like it, but with my diversity trip on Wednesday, I won't see them until Friday. I wish that they would act more responsible so that I could be more lenient with them, but they deserve the new seating arrangement.
For some reason, I feel like I failed with that class. I feel like I should have handled it differently. Looking back, I wish I would have taken one of the instigators in the hall when it was happening and had a chat with her. I think that that would have solved a lot of the problems. I want to give the class some freedoms, but third period is proving to me that they can't handle it.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
No Teacher
This past Wednesday I got to take over the classroom completely. My Cooperating teacher was away at Greenbush, doing training so I asked her if it was okay if I taught all of the classes. She thought that was a great idea. I fixed all of the lessons. I was a little nervous about having the class to myself but they were great. I had a sub watching over me (Who was actually my old counselor.)
All of the kids behaved like they normally would, and some behaved better than they normally do. They were all on task most of the time, and I was able to get to know them better since I was their teacher. Some of them actually commented , “Ms. Waggoner, I’ve never heard you talk this much before!”
My voice was hoarse at the end of the day, but I had such an awesome day. I think that the kids are actually beginning to see me as their teacher. The only thing that I worry about is that all of them may have not been on task as much as they should have. They all have laptops, and it gets kind of hard to monitor them all.
Days like Wednesday are a reminder of why I’m going into teaching. This is a rundown of how my day went:
Period 1-: Quiet Chatter.” J” kept singing “Pants on the Ground”. “T” and “TI” were chatty this morning, but nothing excessive. About halfway through the class everyone quieted down. “C” and “ H” had problems with their internet connections. I’m a little worried that they didn’t all complete the peer editing. “Mrs. L” told a few of them to put up the cell phones and they gave the “But Mrs. “M” Lets Us!” Overall they were pretty good today.
Period 2: J and T didn’t have their computers (T had to take his to Mrs. Falling, and I can’t remember what was wrong with Jared’s). T started working on math and I asked him if he thought he would have this done by tomorrow and he said “If I get my laptop back.” I told him he could write it on a sheet of notebook paper, but I don’t know if he took me seriously or not. Meh. I reminded them all that a rough draft was due to you tomorrow. Most of them were really good about having me look over their rough drafts.
Period 3: A little loud starting out. Mrs. L helped me remind some of them to be quiet. When going through the instructions H looked confused…or pissed, I couldn’t tell. I reminded them that this was due tomorrow. Overall, they worked quite well. Toward the bell they became a little rowdy, but nothing too bad. C seems a little lost on the introduction, but I tried to give her some good starting points, so I think she should be able to pull it together.
Period 4-Went well! Really impressed with S’s response writing. All of the response writings are in the basket. Had about ten minutes left of class, had them work on the ning response (10 things that define you). J was loud, but no louder than usual. J and W helped me with the sound issues when I was showing the youtube video. I read the bio to them on Lance Armstrong’s website and was having problems with the scrolling down button, but it went alright.
6th hour- about 1/4 of the class went to the library). I told a few of them that I didn’t care and that as long as their paper is in when it is due tomorrow, it doesn’t make a difference. The remainder of the class was quiet (Even C!) and good and worked diligently. Checked on kids in the library, they all seemed to be on-task.
7th –D was a little bit late, no biggie. So far, this class has been my favorite today. They all stayed quiet to complete their work, and worked through the whole time. Mrs. L caught J on the computer messing around, but it was almost time to leave and I asked him if he finished his rough draft when Mrs. L left the room and he said that he got it done, so I didn’t see what the big deal was. My presentation went quickly with this class, so they had about 25-30 minutes to write the introduction.
8th- Class was good as normal. Everyone got the lesson. The good thing about this class is I don’t feel bad for letting them talk because I know that they will get the work done, they didn’t even talk that much. We had a fire drill at 2:45.
All of the kids behaved like they normally would, and some behaved better than they normally do. They were all on task most of the time, and I was able to get to know them better since I was their teacher. Some of them actually commented , “Ms. Waggoner, I’ve never heard you talk this much before!”
My voice was hoarse at the end of the day, but I had such an awesome day. I think that the kids are actually beginning to see me as their teacher. The only thing that I worry about is that all of them may have not been on task as much as they should have. They all have laptops, and it gets kind of hard to monitor them all.
Days like Wednesday are a reminder of why I’m going into teaching. This is a rundown of how my day went:
Period 1-: Quiet Chatter.” J” kept singing “Pants on the Ground”. “T” and “TI” were chatty this morning, but nothing excessive. About halfway through the class everyone quieted down. “C” and “ H” had problems with their internet connections. I’m a little worried that they didn’t all complete the peer editing. “Mrs. L” told a few of them to put up the cell phones and they gave the “But Mrs. “M” Lets Us!” Overall they were pretty good today.
Period 2: J and T didn’t have their computers (T had to take his to Mrs. Falling, and I can’t remember what was wrong with Jared’s). T started working on math and I asked him if he thought he would have this done by tomorrow and he said “If I get my laptop back.” I told him he could write it on a sheet of notebook paper, but I don’t know if he took me seriously or not. Meh. I reminded them all that a rough draft was due to you tomorrow. Most of them were really good about having me look over their rough drafts.
Period 3: A little loud starting out. Mrs. L helped me remind some of them to be quiet. When going through the instructions H looked confused…or pissed, I couldn’t tell. I reminded them that this was due tomorrow. Overall, they worked quite well. Toward the bell they became a little rowdy, but nothing too bad. C seems a little lost on the introduction, but I tried to give her some good starting points, so I think she should be able to pull it together.
Period 4-Went well! Really impressed with S’s response writing. All of the response writings are in the basket. Had about ten minutes left of class, had them work on the ning response (10 things that define you). J was loud, but no louder than usual. J and W helped me with the sound issues when I was showing the youtube video. I read the bio to them on Lance Armstrong’s website and was having problems with the scrolling down button, but it went alright.
6th hour- about 1/4 of the class went to the library). I told a few of them that I didn’t care and that as long as their paper is in when it is due tomorrow, it doesn’t make a difference. The remainder of the class was quiet (Even C!) and good and worked diligently. Checked on kids in the library, they all seemed to be on-task.
7th –D was a little bit late, no biggie. So far, this class has been my favorite today. They all stayed quiet to complete their work, and worked through the whole time. Mrs. L caught J on the computer messing around, but it was almost time to leave and I asked him if he finished his rough draft when Mrs. L left the room and he said that he got it done, so I didn’t see what the big deal was. My presentation went quickly with this class, so they had about 25-30 minutes to write the introduction.
8th- Class was good as normal. Everyone got the lesson. The good thing about this class is I don’t feel bad for letting them talk because I know that they will get the work done, they didn’t even talk that much. We had a fire drill at 2:45.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Failing to Make the Grade
Today, in class my Seniors presented their Debate. We have been reading Medea and it was their job to decide whether or not Medea was guilty of murdering her two children. Last week, they had three days to prepare for their 3 minute speech and one minute rebuttal.
To say the least, I was disappointed in about half of the class. Last week my cooperating teacher and I constantly checked to see if they needed help finding sources and how they were coming along. They all said that it would be a piece of cake, so I didn't worry about it.
Today, I hear "But, three minutes is soooooo long" and "I can't talk for threeeee minutes!" I looked at them blankly and told them that they would just have to get through it.
Some students did well. They really researched their topic and had good supporting evidence. I was so proud of them. The other part of the class made me feel like I didn't do a good job and didn't prepare them enough.
Our judging team was another english teacher, my cooperating teacher, and myself. A lot of the students started to have problems at the two minute mark, but were able to make it through by B.S.ing a little bit. One girl hardly made it a minute.
This "Minute Girl" (We will call her "MG" for short) was totally unprepared. She went up and stumbled the entire minute through the speech. She isn't the best at giving class presentations, but she didn't even try. Last week while researching, my cooperating teacher and I kept pushing her to look up information, but she refused. We told her about the debate Monday, but she didn't care. We urged her to go to the library to look up information, but she gave us lip. We just shrugged our shoulders and helped the students who wanted the extra information.
After the debate, I tally'd the individual scores. The highest was a 96. "MG" got a 56. I felt horrible. I gave out my first "F". She did deserve it, but it made me feel guilty, like I had done something wrong. It made me feel like I should have pushed her harder when they were looking for research. It also made me feel like maybe I didn't teach it well enough, like I failed and was the student receiving the 56.
Then, I took a moment to look at the students who did succeed. Maybe I failed MG to some extent, but how did other students strive so well? I did make some impact.
I guess my problem is reaching all students. I can't make students succeed that don't want to. I can try my best to get them to participate, but if they don't want to, they aren't going to. In the next few coming months I will try harder to push MG and try to get her to see the value of what we are doing in class. I am going to try to forge a connection with her. I'm just afraid of failing.
To say the least, I was disappointed in about half of the class. Last week my cooperating teacher and I constantly checked to see if they needed help finding sources and how they were coming along. They all said that it would be a piece of cake, so I didn't worry about it.
Today, I hear "But, three minutes is soooooo long" and "I can't talk for threeeee minutes!" I looked at them blankly and told them that they would just have to get through it.
Some students did well. They really researched their topic and had good supporting evidence. I was so proud of them. The other part of the class made me feel like I didn't do a good job and didn't prepare them enough.
Our judging team was another english teacher, my cooperating teacher, and myself. A lot of the students started to have problems at the two minute mark, but were able to make it through by B.S.ing a little bit. One girl hardly made it a minute.
This "Minute Girl" (We will call her "MG" for short) was totally unprepared. She went up and stumbled the entire minute through the speech. She isn't the best at giving class presentations, but she didn't even try. Last week while researching, my cooperating teacher and I kept pushing her to look up information, but she refused. We told her about the debate Monday, but she didn't care. We urged her to go to the library to look up information, but she gave us lip. We just shrugged our shoulders and helped the students who wanted the extra information.
After the debate, I tally'd the individual scores. The highest was a 96. "MG" got a 56. I felt horrible. I gave out my first "F". She did deserve it, but it made me feel guilty, like I had done something wrong. It made me feel like I should have pushed her harder when they were looking for research. It also made me feel like maybe I didn't teach it well enough, like I failed and was the student receiving the 56.
Then, I took a moment to look at the students who did succeed. Maybe I failed MG to some extent, but how did other students strive so well? I did make some impact.
I guess my problem is reaching all students. I can't make students succeed that don't want to. I can try my best to get them to participate, but if they don't want to, they aren't going to. In the next few coming months I will try harder to push MG and try to get her to see the value of what we are doing in class. I am going to try to forge a connection with her. I'm just afraid of failing.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Keeping the personal out of it...
To say the least, I had a shit-tastic weekend. It seemed that my world was turned part ways upside down. I had a list of things happen Sunday that had my face burning in anger and my eyes welling up in tears. I didn't sleep that well, I woke up pissed, and ready to not do anything. Things in my personal life had gone a little haywire.
Today, I got back to my cooperating school and I was still in a bad mood. It was the worst day I have had there. I didn't even try to connect with the students. I worked on future lesson plans and kept out of it. Everything that the morning classes said annoyed me. I kept my mouth shut and hardly smiled. I didn't want to be around anyone and I was stuck in a class full of 20 people.
After lunch, I started to calm down a little. I was realizing why I was having the "shit-tastic" day. I was having a horrible day because I wasn't leaving my personal life at home. I went in pissy and decided that I was going to stay pissy. The students weren't being annoying, they were acting like they always do. The little things that happen, like some students not turning in their work irked me more than normal. I couldn't believe how hard it was for me to leave the personal at home. They could tell i wasn't having a great day and left me alone.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm really going to have to work harder on if I'm having a bad day dropping it. I shouldn't be going into the classroom with an attitude like I did today. As hard as it is, I think that teachers must compartmentalize their lives or they will go crazy. We need to realize that our moods and energies affect those around us. I'm sure the students could tell that I wasn't in a good mood. I'm quiet in the classroom anyways and am still really nervous when I take over a lesson, but I'm happy. I smile. Today wasn't that way.
If you have a bad day at home, leave it there. School kids driving you nuts today? Leave it at school. Don't take it home with you. You will drive yourself mad. I'm not saying you should fake it when you have a bad day. Accept it. Realize it is there. Look at the positive things in your life. Get over it. If not for your sake, atleast for your students.
Today, I got back to my cooperating school and I was still in a bad mood. It was the worst day I have had there. I didn't even try to connect with the students. I worked on future lesson plans and kept out of it. Everything that the morning classes said annoyed me. I kept my mouth shut and hardly smiled. I didn't want to be around anyone and I was stuck in a class full of 20 people.
After lunch, I started to calm down a little. I was realizing why I was having the "shit-tastic" day. I was having a horrible day because I wasn't leaving my personal life at home. I went in pissy and decided that I was going to stay pissy. The students weren't being annoying, they were acting like they always do. The little things that happen, like some students not turning in their work irked me more than normal. I couldn't believe how hard it was for me to leave the personal at home. They could tell i wasn't having a great day and left me alone.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm really going to have to work harder on if I'm having a bad day dropping it. I shouldn't be going into the classroom with an attitude like I did today. As hard as it is, I think that teachers must compartmentalize their lives or they will go crazy. We need to realize that our moods and energies affect those around us. I'm sure the students could tell that I wasn't in a good mood. I'm quiet in the classroom anyways and am still really nervous when I take over a lesson, but I'm happy. I smile. Today wasn't that way.
If you have a bad day at home, leave it there. School kids driving you nuts today? Leave it at school. Don't take it home with you. You will drive yourself mad. I'm not saying you should fake it when you have a bad day. Accept it. Realize it is there. Look at the positive things in your life. Get over it. If not for your sake, atleast for your students.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)