Anyway, I had to share the most interesting story with you.
My 2nd period is full of seven 8th graders and one 7th grader. It was kind of a little wild before a certain 8th grade girl was added to my class, but I think the boys have a crush on the new girl or something because the talking, banter, middle school attempts at flirting, WHATEVER you want to call it, has increased exponentially since she entered my class! It has been driving me insane and I have been at a loss for what to do. I stand at the front and talk and absolutely no one listens or gives me the time of day because they're too busy making faces at each other and complaining about so and so breathing their air...you get the point. It's a little ridiculous if you ask me.
Monday was a block day, so I had my students for 85 minutes. We had been in class for maybe 30 minutes and they were out of control. I couldn't manage my class to save my life. I was a little frustrated to say the least, but of course I kept my cool and calmly told everyone to leave the stuff at the table they were at and move to a different table. ;)
I sat them all down and held a CLASS MEETING. I told them that I was at a loss because for the life of me I couldn't get them to listen to me. I asked them to tell me what I was doing wrong or what their side of the story was. I needed to know something.
The first student who raised his hand is notorious for always having a rebuttal to everything I say. I like him, but for heaven's sake you do not have to say something every time I speak! What he said completely shocked me. (Just so you can get an idea of how out of control this class was that day, while he was talking, at least two other people were talking or making some sort of noise. He tried to get everyone to be quiet by shouting, "BE QUIET!" but not even that worked...) To summarize, he said that they all talk because they like my class and they like me. All the other teachers are mean and they yell, but I have fun with them and I laugh and think they're funny. Basically, they like my class, so they don't stop talking.
WHAT?!
I told him that I thought it was horribly rude to talk while I was talking and I thought they were doing it to be mean and rude. This student very sincerely said, "No! We don't mean to be rude. We like you!"
I'm sorry...I'm not completely following you. You're saying that you won't stop talking and you won't show me respect because you...like me? The rest of the students backed him up and said,
"Yeah! We like this class!"
"This is one of the few classes I like."
"You don't yell at us."
I couldn't believe it. I told them that what I was getting out of what they were saying though was that I needed to be mean and strict in order to get them to listen to me. They didn't really have an answer to that. I continued to ask them things such as, "what can I do better?" "what do you like/dislike in teachers?"
When we gathered back at the other table before the period ended, we had no time to accomplish anything else on my list of things to do, but I asked them again what I could better. More specifically, I asked them what they considered good consequences. One student said, "Going to the desk in the back of the room does nothing for me. If a teacher were to take me out of the classroom and go on a little walk and chew me out, that would be scary."
Hmm...
That same students also said, "You need to be more strict. Well, not strict, but...firm. Yeah. Firm."
I thought that was very insightful. That student is actually the most out of control student when it comes to talking out. He's funny and likes attention, so he NEVER STOPS TALKING.
I changed my consequences after I talked with them, so hopefully it will start to work out better. Even though my students seemed at ease that day, as soon as the period ended, I wanted to just sit there and cry. I was so on edge and frustrated. I can't control my students! Something needs to change!
I talked to Mrs. Radant across the hall about the whole ridiculous amount of talking thing, and she empathized with me and said that her 5th and 6th period are completely ridiculous. It's good to know that even an experienced teacher has some periods that are a little hectic to say the least. We're both similar in the sense that we like to be liked and our personalities are very "let's all have fun and just enjoy life!"
I am so grateful for other teachers who take time to listen to me and provide me with support and a little bit of encouragement.
-Ms. Damron-
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