i yelled today :(

I yelled a lot.  I felt so bad afterword, I almost cried.  I hate having to raise my voice solely to get my students to take me seriously.  I know that I am so new to this process, but do students really want to work?  Do they ever just do what they are instructed and freely participate?  They are working on a project that I think is crazy fun, but apparently they do not feel the same way.  Do all teachers  struggle with finding educational and enjoyable ways fro students to learn.  Fortunately, I do not have "the test" to teach to, but I do have standards to uphold.  How do I sail here, and get all my students on board too?

Sharing is Caring!

So, today I pretty much peeled my students off of the ceiling.  I don't know what their other teachers fed them today, but whatever it was it was filled with sugar and caffeine.  Chatty, chatty, chatty!  I was so excited to introduce the next project, but I couldn't get their attention to save my life.  The unit that we are moving into is a collaborative group project on Interior Design using the Elements of Art and Principles of Design.  Although I encourage social interaction and working together in all their art-making to a certain extent, this project focuses on working together for a common goal.  They are to work together to design a room for prospective clients.  Hopefully they will gain sense of responsibility and accountability.  They will have to depend on each other to complete the assignment, as their individual grade will reflect how they worked as a group.  I will be choosing the groups, so the students will have to step out of their comfort zone for a bit in order to make the most of this collaborative project.  Announcing this fact went a little differently than planned... they actually were ok with the fact that I am choosing the groups!  OMG! i was expected ten minutes of justifying why they are not allowed to form their own.  Cheers to that!  I really think in the long run they will benefit much more from me strategically selecting who will work with who. I will be able to place struggling students with those that usually are high achievers, hopefully ensuring success for all.  Wish me luck!

Again, this was supposed to be up last week... Week 3...

... I just love formatting this thing!  LATE students!  Ah, what do I do with them?  Well a quick overview of what is happening is necessary here.  One Period has the idea that my class is unimportant and they waltz in up to ten minutes late.  One student came to me in a moment of weakness stating that their class was "like so far away."  In this moment of weakness, I replied, "Ok, Joey, Just hurry please.  You better come in huffing and puffing like you RAN here!"  This worked for about a week.  He is back taking his sweet time, paying no regard that he disrupts the entire class when he noisily comes in ten minutes late.  I have to repeat my directions to him after the rest of the class has started working.  (I have tried not telling him, telling him to "figure it out," but then he does nothing.  I would rather repeat myself than have him do nothing.)  I have called off our deal.  I informed Joey that I now mark him tardy every time he arrives after the bell.  Again, this worked for about a week, and since that week Joey has established followers.  Im stuck.  I had other behavior problems with this students that have since become better, but I am afraid if I reprimand him too much for being tardy that I will lose the greater battle.  I do not want to be "afraid" of my students or have to "pick my battles," but I feel that I have to at this point.  I have ignored his tardiness on occasion and have focused on the greater battle of getting him to produce work in class.  However, the lateness is getting worse...it is time for action.  I have thought about comparing the classroom to a conference room; we cannot start the meeting without one of our committee members, therefore we all need to hold the meeting a bit longer when we start late.  I do not want to punish the entire class, but he obviously does not respond to personal discipline.  Maybe if the class holds him accountable, he may not want to let EVERYONE down.  The students have lunch, so this will not interfere with any other class time.  Just a thought.  We'll see how this week goes...

This was supposed to be posted 2 weeks ago... Week 2...

...but i was to consumed with putting the fishys on my blog.  Why, I am not sure.  Anyhoo, getting back to real life, do I have a set of rules in my classroom.  The answer is Yes!  Whether they are followed is a different story.  I would love to say that all of my students are little angels; courteous, respectful to those around them, and always on task.  Ha!  Who am I kidding?  They are kids!  They have it running through their veins to break the rules and push the limits.  I can deal with this to a certain extent, but I do draw the line at RESPECT.  That is the ultimate rule in my classroom.  Students were given a conduct contract at the beginning of the semester that they and their guardians were to sign.  The rules are also posted to ensure daily absorption of the expectations.  However, if I could go back in time I would have had my students write the contract!  A sense of accountability would come with actually scripting the contract, furthering their responsibility to adhere to its conditions.  I have thought about doing this now, mid-semester, but as a new teacher I feel like I just need to stick out what I have started in order to support consistency.  Is this naive of me?  Should I switch it up on them?  MOST students do not have a problem behaving appropriately in class, but I worry that I am losing those that do not.  And though they are in high school and really have no reason not to know how to behave and what is expected of them, in some cases my heart goes out to those who do not.  For whatever reason, some students just do not know.  Who really does not know and who is just paying me?  There in lies my problems with authority.  I am still struggling with establishing proper discipline without "feeling bad" about it.