Whew!

Today was much better. My 7th grade can handle desks in groups of four. My 6th and 8th graders can't really. I think I'm going to stick it out, though. I can handle the 6th graders, and the 8th graders can't handle anything. So...voila. Homeroom somewhat under control. We changed our lunch/PE schedule, so now 6th-8th grades all have lunch together. It was decent today. The 7th grade was the best behaved today, and we were complimented by another teacher. The 8th grade was literally out of control. Literally. Completely. Out. Of. Control.

The 8th grade came into my class this afternoon, and they were taking a quiz based on how well they behaved when they entered my room. Many of them failed - but it should be an easy grade.

Then I said that if anyone spoke, they'd have 100 lines. Unfortunately two of my best students kept talking. They are currently writing. Two of my least well-behaved students also talked. They did not write. I just sent one of them down to the office to continue his assignment there. He talked back to me all the way across the room. Real tough guy. Real tough.

Weekend!!!!!! (In Jackson...going to judge a speech and debate contest. It should be fun. Looking forward to it.)

Oh, by the way...

...in talking to the other new teacher at my school, the topic of our jobs came up. Specifically, what our principal thinks of our jobs. Apparently, she has been looking for math/science and social studies teachers. Nobody's available, but apparently, by Christmas we can expect to be replaced. Wow. Just, wow.

Regime Change

Today we set up the desks differently, had a new seating arrangement (obviously, since the desks were in different places), and covered procedures and rules all day today instead of social studies. We'll have a quiz on these things on Friday. It is meant to be an easy quiz grade, but for some of them will probably get them off to a failing start to the quarter.

My 7th grade eventually came around and behaved this morning. This afternoon has been a completely different story. Luckily (for me), it's the counselor's class. So I just have to sit back and fume silently at their disrespect. I get to take them over afterwards, though, so that should be...er...fun.

6th grade actually had to practice entering the classroom two times after their original attempt. But they were scared into submission soon enough.

8th grade is a little more battle-hardened. But I'll get them soon enough. Not yet today. Some of them are really stubborn. Little do they know (since they haven't talked to my mother and father) how stubborn I am.

Speaking of my mother, she pointed out to me that I shouldn't write profanity on my blog...so, I'll start censoring the conversations I have with my most special little shining examples of God's creation. (He is in the process of getting expelled, by the way. I was surprised to see him show up today.)

It's a Monday

So, I had this realization today: This year is all about survival. If I can make it through this year, survive, and come back next year, I've won. The kids are literally just throwing the kitchen sink at me to see if I'll stick around or run out like most of their previous adult "role models" have. This is nice in that it gives me a light (however dim) at the end of the tunnel. This is bad in that it makes me want to get violent at how wrong this situation is.

I told my pet project today (he was brutally bad) that no matter what, I'm not giving up on him. "Do I spend as much time with any other student?" "No." "Does any other teacher spend as much time with you?" "No." "OK. So when I get frustrated with you, I'm just as pissed at myself for not having stopped you or prevented you from misbehaving as I am with you. And, when you get expelled, because that's where this is going right now, you can bet that I will call your mom, get your cell phone number, and check in with you at least once a week to make sure you're not acting as stupid wherever you are at as you are when you're in my class. You've got too much potential to piss away like you've been doing lately." He laughed in an appreciative sort of way. So I hope tomorrow's better. We'll see - I doubt it right now.

7th and 8th grades both couldn't function well enough to watch a video. So we wrote lines. I told 8th grade that my new "fall-back" lesson plan will be to have them write a few paragraphs about whatever I wanted them to learn for the day in the more fun and varied activities that I've planned. They were all-star line copiers. Also, I think I'm going to start with some individualized notes. I'm going to start with my good students because they need to know that I notice that they're always on track despite how much attention I always give "the others." I'm also toying with the idea of sitting all my good students together on one side of the room. That way when I teach, they're closer to me and I can let the others jack around and miss the lesson if they want. It will also make them easier to ignore and therefore not give them the attention that they so desperately want.

Meltdown has come and gone (for now)

Yesterday, I made a two-page Word document with 7th grade misbehavior. From a 45-minute period of the day. It was not good. I finally threw in the towel in the lunch line back to the classroom (which was the time of the day that I felt I had them most under control). Upon returning to the room, my pet project and a girl in the class got into a fight. They are both serving the first day of a 5-day suspension today. I think his suspension may be turning into an expulsion in the next five days, which is too bad, but at the same time still a relief from a classroom management perspective.

Today has been much better, I've laughed a few times with my classes, and I've given some mediocre-to-decent lessons today. We're doing supply and demand with 6th grade. Way too difficult for 6th graders. Oh, well. I'm going to keep going tomorrow.

I think the rest of the week should be OK. I have one and a half more days. We have an early out on Friday, but I'll be up here finishing up my grades from the first quarter.

Meltdown is imminent

Our school has decided that PE and talking at lunch are rights not to be infringed upon. Those had been the only things that we can really use as consequences with the students (silent lunch and missing PE). So...we are currently asking for their attention and saying "Since we're letting you go to PE and talk at lunch anyway, we need your attention now please." Yeah, that works.

So today, my principal told me I need to stop them from talking before they even start. I asked what to do if they don't respect that request for silence. She said circulate the room and ask them individually to be quiet. I asked what to do when they still aren't (because they aren't) and she said "That's why you need to have work for them to do." Oh, right. I didn't realize that I am supposed to be giving them WORK. I thought I was supposed to keep them quiet and look at them for 45 minutes each period.

So...I'm really frustrated. So frustrated, in fact, that the thought, "Wow. I could be in law school right now" only crossed my mind five times yesterday.

My 8th graders still refuse to be on task during my class. Today they are taking a test. I'm putting the over/under on number of tests I collect and give zeros for because of talking at five. Out of 24. Less grading for me! They need to see that I mean business. Maybe failing the first quarter (which ends Friday) will be what it takes.

I swore today

at my 8th graders.

Something along the lines of "You don't care what the hell goes on in this classroom as long as it doesn't interfere with your playtime. You have already demonstrated to me that you have little to no respect for me, or for any of your teachers, and that's fine. You have so little respect for me, though, that you tell me to my face that the only reason you ever behave a little bit in my classroom is because you're scared of another teacher."

Oops. My bad.

I did talk to my academic supervisor again today, and he said he was very pleased with where I am and what I'm doing, especially considering the school I'm at. I also talked to the teacher I replaced for a while tonight to get some advice for a few students that I know he was close to and who I need to start working on. So...I've got my mission for the next couple weeks.

Also, my pet project in 7th grade had an absolutely fantastic day today (minus one or two minor slip-ups). So, I was extremely happy about that. He told me today that he enjoyed the day a lot more since the teachers weren't getting on to him, so hopefully he can take that to heart and start working on behaving like that more consistently. (For now, I'm just hoping for tomorrow.)

Thursday = Basically Friday

Or at least that's what everyone in my house says in order to make it through the day.

7th grade came in silently this morning. Went to their lockers and the closet to put up their backpacks and supplies silently. I even had an assignment on the board that they ignored. I didn't care because it wasn't for a grade anyway, and they were being quiet. When I put up their assignment at 8:00 (that marks the beginning of our class), they started talking. Sometimes I just feel like I will never understand my students.

Overall, though, they were good for the class period. 6th and 8th grade lessons will be a little interesting, though, because another teacher informed me this morning that he'd need the powerpoint projector for the rest of this week and next week. I can no longer show the information that I wanted to. So...the last 15-20 minutes of those class periods may get a little interesting.

It's picture day today. I didn't realize that I'd have to be in the pictures. So I didn't wear contacts, my hair is a big shaggy, I didn't shave very well this morning (and I haven't at all since Saturday), so my kids are going to get a very "real" photo of their 7th grade homeroom teacher. Oh well, I see a very (too) "real" 7th grade every day. Several times per day.

Sorry for the lack of posts...

...I wish I could say it was because I was having such a great time and was wrapped up with my students and how well they're doing.

Between last Monday and this Monday, I had 3 days that I considered my worst at school. Last Monday, last Wednesday, and this Monday. Luckily I think things are going a bit better now. We'll see if we can keep them going. Some of our students are absolutely uncontrollable, and they tend to drag some of the others down with them.

I have discovered that I can wing lessons without planning. Unfortunately, this came during the first quarter this year. After Monday, I kind of decided that if my kids didn't care at all about my lessons, I wouldn't either. I decided that sleep for the sake of patience and sanity was better than having great lessons since it was looking like my lessons were just going to be defecated on anyway. After two days with little to no planning, I can say with certainty that I can handle my content well enough to get by without preparing. Hopefully I can pull myself together and stop doing it that way, though.

One of my pet projects (a student who has a lot going for him, but his behavior around his classmates leaves him somewhere short of civilized) is coming in tomorrow and I think he knows that I mean business. No more games with him (tomorrow anyway). Actually, everything is a game with him. If he does his work, I win. If he doesn't, it's a draw. He doesn't win until he refuses to talk to me at the end of the day, which he hasn't yet done.

I was talking to the little cousin of one of my students. She's in the 3rd grade. I've spoken with her once before. She told me this afternoon that she's sad and wishes her dad could come pick her up (she was waiting for her cousin to get out of football practice). She then volunteered that she hasn't seen him in a while. I start wondering if this is a matter of hours, days, weeks, or longer. Sure enough, she last saw him on her birthday. In April. She doesn't have his number, doesn't know where he is, and doesn't know when he'll reappear in her life (for probably no more than a day at that). That's tragic.

I was talking to some of the fathers after football practice. They really appreciate seeing me at the games and dropping by the practices. Like, a lot. That was good to hear...if the kids don't appreciate me, then at least their parents do. Time to go plan/grade my life away...end of the quarter is next Friday, and I'm about 2 weeks behind on grading because I decided that Montgomery all weekend last weekend would be a good idea. Plus, I gave a quiz today, will give one Friday, and have to give a test early next week. I'm going to be in grading prison for the foreseeable future. Hopefully that's the only thing that will keep me from posting again soon, and not a complete lack of humanity from my students.