Day 2: Hell
Who would have thought that 6th grade would be so hard? Now, I look back when I was in 6th grade and I realized that it was the most hormonal and catty years of my life.
I'm writing this down because I need to reflect to figure out what went wrong and how I can learn from this and grow as an educator and disciplinarian.
English was first. The lesson was about 2 hours long and all we accomplished was write down and define the vocab and read the story. The girls were chatty and one boy, C, walked around the classroom like he owned the place. The class was so rowdy that two teachers at two separate times came in to yell at them. The second teacher told me that this class was the most cooperative and disciplined class in the entire school. I didn't believe it. I still don't believe it.
Two girls began fighting so I called down to the office to have them removed. Then one girl was being rude and disrespectful, talking back to me with attitude, so I called down to have her removed.
The students went to lunch. How hard is it to walk in two straight lines in silence in the hall? The principal, who is a hard ass when it comes to misbehavior, was watching them and they still didn't even care.
They came back for our Math lesson and they were out of control. I called down to the office to have C removed because he wasn't cooperating and being disrespectful to me and other students. They never actually came for him. I couldn't even get this students to get out their math book and notebook.
So I called down to the office to tell them that I was honestly at my writ's end with this class. Two administrators and a police officer/security guard came in to yell at them. The class was silent for probably the first time for the day. Fucking pathetic.
I was able to start and finish the lesson in about 40 minutes until they started getting rowdy again. At least I got that 40 minutes.
One boy was angered by another boy's comments and got up like he was going to punch him. I restrained him and call down to the office to say another fight was about to happen. An 8th grader had to sit in on the class so that they would cooperate.
That was probably the worst feeling, that I needed help to control about twenty 12 year olds. I needed a 14 year old to sit in and watch. I felt, and still feel, like I am inadequate. I must have did something wrong for these kids, when I am yelling at the top of my voice, to not even pay attention. How could I fail like that?
Learning experience:
I needed to establish the classroom rules and maintain classroom order even if the regular teacher wasn't there. Mostly all teachers have the same guidelines for classroom control, (raise hand, don't speak when others are speaking, ask permission to go to the bathroom, have respect for all members of the classroom, etc) and I should have stated and reinforced them in the beginning.
Also, I needed to establish consequences. First violation, name on the board, second, note written to the teacher regarding said misbehavior, third, down to the office. I let this students take advantage of me, the sub, because I did not enforce the rules or consequences. I gave them probably 100 chances when they only should have gotten 3. One man told me that the kids from the inner city had bad lives at home so they'll try and get their way (which usually never, ever happens in their ordinary life) when they can. This means when a sub is in the classroom. He also told me not to take it personal. That man was very kind to me when I needed it most. (Thank you stranger!)
Thirdly, I didn't establish a way to regroup the class with either visual or non-visual clues. Some teachers hold up their hand, others count, some turn off the lights. These clues are conditioning agents. When they happen, the students know that they need to shut up and look up at the teacher for instruction.
It would have been beneficial if I learned all the names of the students (because honestly, I only learned the names of the very bad kids) so that when one students was acting up, I could write their name on the board or verbally warn them of their actions.
Over all, I feel like a failure but it was only my second day and this is a learning experience. I did learn a lot and I can put this behind me.
I'm writing this down because I need to reflect to figure out what went wrong and how I can learn from this and grow as an educator and disciplinarian.
English was first. The lesson was about 2 hours long and all we accomplished was write down and define the vocab and read the story. The girls were chatty and one boy, C, walked around the classroom like he owned the place. The class was so rowdy that two teachers at two separate times came in to yell at them. The second teacher told me that this class was the most cooperative and disciplined class in the entire school. I didn't believe it. I still don't believe it.
Two girls began fighting so I called down to the office to have them removed. Then one girl was being rude and disrespectful, talking back to me with attitude, so I called down to have her removed.
The students went to lunch. How hard is it to walk in two straight lines in silence in the hall? The principal, who is a hard ass when it comes to misbehavior, was watching them and they still didn't even care.
They came back for our Math lesson and they were out of control. I called down to the office to have C removed because he wasn't cooperating and being disrespectful to me and other students. They never actually came for him. I couldn't even get this students to get out their math book and notebook.
So I called down to the office to tell them that I was honestly at my writ's end with this class. Two administrators and a police officer/security guard came in to yell at them. The class was silent for probably the first time for the day. Fucking pathetic.
I was able to start and finish the lesson in about 40 minutes until they started getting rowdy again. At least I got that 40 minutes.
One boy was angered by another boy's comments and got up like he was going to punch him. I restrained him and call down to the office to say another fight was about to happen. An 8th grader had to sit in on the class so that they would cooperate.
That was probably the worst feeling, that I needed help to control about twenty 12 year olds. I needed a 14 year old to sit in and watch. I felt, and still feel, like I am inadequate. I must have did something wrong for these kids, when I am yelling at the top of my voice, to not even pay attention. How could I fail like that?
Learning experience:
I needed to establish the classroom rules and maintain classroom order even if the regular teacher wasn't there. Mostly all teachers have the same guidelines for classroom control, (raise hand, don't speak when others are speaking, ask permission to go to the bathroom, have respect for all members of the classroom, etc) and I should have stated and reinforced them in the beginning.
Also, I needed to establish consequences. First violation, name on the board, second, note written to the teacher regarding said misbehavior, third, down to the office. I let this students take advantage of me, the sub, because I did not enforce the rules or consequences. I gave them probably 100 chances when they only should have gotten 3. One man told me that the kids from the inner city had bad lives at home so they'll try and get their way (which usually never, ever happens in their ordinary life) when they can. This means when a sub is in the classroom. He also told me not to take it personal. That man was very kind to me when I needed it most. (Thank you stranger!)
Thirdly, I didn't establish a way to regroup the class with either visual or non-visual clues. Some teachers hold up their hand, others count, some turn off the lights. These clues are conditioning agents. When they happen, the students know that they need to shut up and look up at the teacher for instruction.
It would have been beneficial if I learned all the names of the students (because honestly, I only learned the names of the very bad kids) so that when one students was acting up, I could write their name on the board or verbally warn them of their actions.
Over all, I feel like a failure but it was only my second day and this is a learning experience. I did learn a lot and I can put this behind me.