A Note

Dear Children,

     I am counting down the days right along with you. I love you dearly but your wild behavior is wearing me out.

Love,
Teacher

Management Lessons

Management is going better this week. I have learned two lessons thus far:

1) Confidence is key. Acting like you know what you are doing and not hesitating in your directions and instruction gives students the impression that you have everything under control. When they trust that you are in control, they will follow your lead!

2) Being prepared aids confidence, and thus management. When you have all materials in place ahead of time-copies, lesson plans, supplies, etc.-you don't have to worry about figuring out last-minute details right before the school day begins or during your precious little prep time.

I'm glad I am learning these Teacher Truths now rather than in my first year!

Also, I am making tissue paper flowers with my kiddos tomorrow:
http://foldingtrees.com/2008/08/flower-week-tissue-paper-carnations/

Last week when we made a Mother's Day craft, they were aaaallllll over the place, so here's hoping they are a little calmer this time.

Resolution?

If I am the problem, I am also the solution. This does not comfort me as much as it annoys the heck out of me.

Here Goes...

My New & Improved Management Plan for the last 3 1/2 weeks of school (during which time I will be completely in charge) shall consist of the following revisions:

a) The Come to Jesus Talk-I will sit with my students at the carpet area and have a frank talk with them about my behavior expectations for them while I am in charge. No more Ms. Pushover Teacher!

b) Every time we walk in line, I will have them each hold a paper with a hallway expectation written on it (part of the schoolwide behavior system). If/when one of them starts messing around, I will simply stop the line and ask the student to read their sign (I may have to help them read it, but that's okay) and then tell me what they were doing wrong. If the behavior continues, I will take away a few minutes of their recess time.

c) I have traded my treasure bag idea for that of a "popcorn party." If my class does what is expected while I am in charge, they will earn a letter. They must earn all the letters in P-O-P-C-O-R-N-P-A-R-T-Y in order to get said party in the last week of school. We'll see how they do with this.

I am hoping that the combination of the above three strategies will be enough to turn my kids' behavior around during these last few weeks of the school year.

(crossing my fingers, hoping and praying)

Power

"With great power comes great responsibility."

-Peter Parker (Spider-Man)

"I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It's my personal approach that creates the climate. It's my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized."
-Haim Ginott

M is for...

M is for Management. I've been struggling with this part of teaching lately. Well, okay, I've been struggling with it all year, but I've reached a point where I don't know what else I can do. The problem, I know, is that I was too nice/lax in the beginning, thus setting the stage for the kids to walk all over me for the rest of the year. Trying to be tough after being nice is like pulling teeth. Next school year, for my student teaching semester, I am going to be super tough at first so that I won't have to deal with as many discipline problems later on! I do have a good group of students though-their main problem is that they like to talk, talk, talk (which is good for ELD kids but bad when you're trying to walk quietly down the hallway, read a book aloud, or teach a lesson).

M is for Monolingual. We got a new student in our class yesterday. She's monolingual-she only speaks Spanish, although I did find out today that she can count up to 6 in English. I also found out that it is very hard to teach/communicate while following Arizona's "English Only" mandate. I wish lawmakers would get their butts into a classroom every so often to see what education is really like.

M is for Motivation. I've been lacking in this area as well. I am nearing the end of my fourth year, or eighth semester, of undergraduate studies. I am SO READY to be done!!! Only a handful of assignments, half-day summer school teaching in June, and a semester of student teaching + a 3-credit course stands between me and graduation!!!!!! Wait...that's a lot. Better to just see it in terms of months-8 more till I am faced with the Real World!  =O  =D

My First Class

I've been interning for the past school year in a first grade ELD (English Language Development) class in a Title I school. I have fallen in love with this class. Every single student, even the troublemakers, are sweet at heart. They have brought me so much joy (and frustration!) on the Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays that I have been in the classroom all day with them. They have taught me so much more about pedagogy than any of my college courses. I love every one of these kids so much. They say you never forget your first class-usually that pertains to the first class you teach on your own-but I think this current class is that first class that I'll never forget. Some of them have tough home lives, most of them are economically poor, and all of them are still learning how to speak the English language fluently, but none of that matters when they step through those school doors. To me they are the future of our world, and I have so much hope in and for every one of them.

So here's to the kids who inspire me to be a better teacher and a better person :)