One of my good science teacher friends told me that her student teacher quit a couple of days ago. This science teacher had been providing a lot of in-class support because the student teacher seemed to be struggling a lot. After the student teacher's first day on her own, she went home and had an anxiety attack over classroom management, texted the science teacher the next day saying she was sick, then left the program. She left this science teacher with very little warning or preparation, so she had to pick up lessons without any preparation. Crazy stuff.
We were at a professional development this afternoon when the teacher told me this, and my student teacher was sitting at the table with us. When we were walking back to the classroom, she said, "It seems like the student teachers are all disappearing!" I jokingly told her it seemed like some sort of contest: "LAST STUDENT TEACHER STANDING." Yikes! My student teacher told me that she was freaked out the first week she was here (during the observation stage - not when she was teaching). She confessed that she did go home and cry. Awe! Poor Emily! She told me that it got a lot better after that and she realized that she can't take behaviors home with her - she needs to leave those kind of things at school.
I have a hard time reading her some times because she doesn't show emotion the same way I do (which is basically written all over my face and portrayed in my every action). Hopefully she's happy and enjoying her time here! I just hope I am being helpful and supportive. Regardless - I am loving having a student teacher! I have been able to do homework at school, which is pretty convenient these days!
-Ms. Damron-
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
"It's because they're scared of you."
I was talking to Emily, my student teacher, as we were walking to our cars after school yesterday. I told her that I have been thinking about requesting winter semester student teachers for the future. I don't even know if I'm signed up to get one after this or if I can request a time to get one, but I have good reasoning! I told Emily that teaching the students for a whole semester allows me to build strong relationships with them and train them according to my rules. They know what is expected in my class, which hopefully allows for an easier transition when a student teacher comes. (It also ensures that things don't get wildly out of hand.) Emily laughed and told me that the students certainly act differently when I'm in the class compared to when I'm not. Apparently they behave better when I'm there. I laughed, but her response was, "They're scared of you."
Um - Emily totally made my day.
I feel like I have finally reached SUPER TEACHER status. I'm not an advocate for being scary or mean, and honestly, I don't think "scared" is the right term to use. Frankly, most of my students really like me! They frequently come up to me to show me their grades and tell me what is going on in their lives. Several times when I've walked in at the end of a period, they have said, "Where have you been Ms. Damron?!" Also (although I feel bad when they say this around Emily), they have asked me when I will be teaching again. Cute. [FYI - not many students ask that. Emily is doing great, and the students like her and respond well. So great.]
Back to the "scared" part though. I do feel satisfaction when I know that my class is well run, and my students behave well. I don't have a lot of the behavior issues that some other teachers have, and I think that deals largely in part with building strong, positive relationships and having good classroom management. Also, I think that this is evidence that people can change and grow. I was most definitely not this confident and capable my first year and I'm better than I was last year. Learning good classroom management takes time and I am still learning tricks and procedures that work.
One more "scared of me" story though. This morning, I was in the hall getting water when the bell rang for first period. I turned around to go back to my classroom and I spotted two of my 8th grade students (who I had last year) at the end of the hall talking to friends and goofing off. Excuse me - but THE BELL JUST RANG. I called their names and demanded that they come stand against the wall so I could talk to them. They sauntered over and I told them that some "shaming" needed to happen. I reamed into them for a few minutes and the conversation went something like this:
"The bell just rang for 1st period. Why are you not in class? Do you think the bells don't apply to you? Because they do. You are not acting appropriately and frankly, that's not okay. I have a lot of free time on my hands these days, and if you need an escort to get to class on time, I am fine with escorting you to your classes. It's going to be embarrassing because there is no need for you to be escorted to class. You should be able to get to class on time! Do you think so little of my class that you don't think you need to be on time? That's disrespectful and you had better start getting to my class on time."
When I marched them back into my classroom, the girl told the boy, "She scares me." I glanced back and said, "Good. I'm glad I scare you!"
For a little disclaimer, I really like these two students and they are actually great kids. For some reason though, they really don't think they need to get to class on time and it's a big issue for multiple classes. We get along pretty well though. I was curious what their attitudes would be toward me later. Near the end of the period, I called the boy back to my desk to ask him about missing assignments because he was failing my class. I made some sort of remark like, "Dude. What is going on?! You don't hand in anything and I have to literally tell you what to write on your paper to get points. Do you not listen during class?!" He replied, "No…man. I love this class." I laughed and said, "Even after I get mad at you for not being on time to my class, you still like this class?" He simply said, "Yeah."
Here's the take home message friends: build relationships with your students and hold them to high standards. Don't be afraid to call them out, because often, they will see the justification in your acts.
So cool.
I love my job. I love teaching. I especially love my students.
-Ms. Damron-
Um - Emily totally made my day.
I feel like I have finally reached SUPER TEACHER status. I'm not an advocate for being scary or mean, and honestly, I don't think "scared" is the right term to use. Frankly, most of my students really like me! They frequently come up to me to show me their grades and tell me what is going on in their lives. Several times when I've walked in at the end of a period, they have said, "Where have you been Ms. Damron?!" Also (although I feel bad when they say this around Emily), they have asked me when I will be teaching again. Cute. [FYI - not many students ask that. Emily is doing great, and the students like her and respond well. So great.]
Back to the "scared" part though. I do feel satisfaction when I know that my class is well run, and my students behave well. I don't have a lot of the behavior issues that some other teachers have, and I think that deals largely in part with building strong, positive relationships and having good classroom management. Also, I think that this is evidence that people can change and grow. I was most definitely not this confident and capable my first year and I'm better than I was last year. Learning good classroom management takes time and I am still learning tricks and procedures that work.
One more "scared of me" story though. This morning, I was in the hall getting water when the bell rang for first period. I turned around to go back to my classroom and I spotted two of my 8th grade students (who I had last year) at the end of the hall talking to friends and goofing off. Excuse me - but THE BELL JUST RANG. I called their names and demanded that they come stand against the wall so I could talk to them. They sauntered over and I told them that some "shaming" needed to happen. I reamed into them for a few minutes and the conversation went something like this:
"The bell just rang for 1st period. Why are you not in class? Do you think the bells don't apply to you? Because they do. You are not acting appropriately and frankly, that's not okay. I have a lot of free time on my hands these days, and if you need an escort to get to class on time, I am fine with escorting you to your classes. It's going to be embarrassing because there is no need for you to be escorted to class. You should be able to get to class on time! Do you think so little of my class that you don't think you need to be on time? That's disrespectful and you had better start getting to my class on time."
When I marched them back into my classroom, the girl told the boy, "She scares me." I glanced back and said, "Good. I'm glad I scare you!"
For a little disclaimer, I really like these two students and they are actually great kids. For some reason though, they really don't think they need to get to class on time and it's a big issue for multiple classes. We get along pretty well though. I was curious what their attitudes would be toward me later. Near the end of the period, I called the boy back to my desk to ask him about missing assignments because he was failing my class. I made some sort of remark like, "Dude. What is going on?! You don't hand in anything and I have to literally tell you what to write on your paper to get points. Do you not listen during class?!" He replied, "No…man. I love this class." I laughed and said, "Even after I get mad at you for not being on time to my class, you still like this class?" He simply said, "Yeah."
Here's the take home message friends: build relationships with your students and hold them to high standards. Don't be afraid to call them out, because often, they will see the justification in your acts.
So cool.
I love my job. I love teaching. I especially love my students.
-Ms. Damron-
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