Friday makes me smile
It is wonderful to be facing the weekend. It has come to the point where I am getting through the week by focusing on the next break. The semester has been terribly difficult. I feel like a first year teacher all over again. (Oh that was horrible and I can’t believe I continued teaching after that semester.) I love teaching at the college level and didn’t believe that I was ready to give up high school. I would give it up in a second if the opportunity presented. It isn’t the students, it’s all the other junk that goes along with being a high school teacher. I hate having to type up and submit lesson plans. I really hate the documentation required for students who are failing because they are flat out lazy. But this post isn’t about the frustrations of the job…actually I don’t know what this post is about because lately my mind is mush. So tired. Oh, Fridays. This Friday is grand because it represents the start of a three day weekend. This is the week that starts the downhill slope that is the rest of the school year. After this three day weekend we face the four day school week, Thanksgiving break and then the race to mid-term exams. The semester is almost over! Time flies…
Now for that first year- it was the semester from hell. Fresh out of college in December I started subbing in January. Stepping into a different classroom each day and not knowing the students is difficult. However, it is a great learning experience and there is minimal paperwork involved. Each afternoon you leave with exactly what you arrived with. Nothing to grade, nothing to complete for the next day. I still needed a guaranteed job and pursued every opportunity to land one. I didn’t have to wait long. By February I was offered a permanent sub position in a pretty decent high school. The class was government and economics…graduating seniors. (To the those who just went ew it was everything you think it was and more.) I was just barely older than my students, stepping in to the position of a teacher retiring for health reasons. The students loved him, the faculty loved him, and I was new. Let me say that there are some districts where newbies are completely on their own. I guess the thought is, why get too attached to the person who may or may not return? I don’t know, but I was totally alone with a group of kids who had no respect for anyone. My first and fourth blocks acted great and really worked with me. On a daily basis third block made me want to run screaming. They would not get to class on time, would not come with materials, would not remain quiet so I could teach. They literally carried on their regular speaking voice conversations for the entire class period. I issued detentions, gave zeros, and called parents. The parents didn’t see what they problem was…”he’s/she’s just talking.” Yes, but so much so that it is impossible to have class. First and fourth were pretty good, but they had a few instigators as well. At this particular school some classrooms were connected by a doorway. One student was so disruptive that I pulled his desk to the shared doorway and he stayed there for class. This kid would not do work, would not be quiet, would not leave others alone, and smarted off to me on a regular basis. When June arrived and he had a 69 average, needing a 70 to pass, he decided it was time to play nice. Hate it- failed. Now, before you think I amm terrible, he failed English too. One, I don’t give points. Two, I sure as hell don’t give points to someone who has made my life miserable for four months. Three, do your work and passing is more likely to naturally occur. Back to the block of imps, at one point it was so bad that I told the students who wanted to pass to join me at the front of the room…I reviewed them and gave credit where it was due. I must say the month before the end of school when graduation was iffy for some that class improved. I hated that semester and was so glad when it was over. Despite how horrible it was, during that short period of time I learned more than I did in years of edu classes.
The first year was all about survival. The last month or so the principal gave advice that I have never forgotten and have always followed. Get them on the first day. Meet them at the door with their assigned seat and an assignment ready. It sets the tone and lets them know you are prepared for class. It also gives you the advantage of being able to call them by name without having to ask them to identify themselves after they have chosen their own seat. Mr. and Ms. work well too. The formal tone gives the impression that you will take nothing from them and have high expectations of them. Now, I can’t keep this up for too long, but it is long enough that students get the idea.
November 08 2007 10:52 pm | Education and Ramblings
November 11th, 2007 at 5:42 am
I always despised those teachers who assigned seats and started out with assignments, but I probably learned more from them! As I pointed out before, I didn’t exactly excell in high school.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
It’s called survival! You are much more successful in getting order established if you can call them by name. Assigned seats help.
Side note- I always ask what students want to be called and put that on the chart. One told me his name was Forrest. I do not remember what his name actually was, but his parents assured me it wasn’t Forrest. I refused to call him anything but Forrest all semester because that is what he requested the first day.