Noisy and rowdy.
So I worked with a group of 8th graders (about 22) today. They had a half hour of "silent" reading before lunch. I put silent in quotes because they were anything but silent. You would have honestly thought I was a brick wall for all the good it did me to tell them to be quiet and read so they could answer the questions at the end of the story. They were WILD. Yelling, jumping out of seats, paper throwing mayhem.
Once I got them settled (slightly), one of the students was sitting back, pencil down, head back, obviously not going to do any work. I would have been fine with that (it's his grade, not mine) but he was tapping his feet and his pencil. So I said, "Look, I don't care if you do the work or not, it's your grade, not mine, but be quiet while you're not doing anything." The other students did the whole "Ohhhh...she told you" type thing. The minute I said it I regretted it because I was scared another teacher would hear me and accuse me of condoning failure and not trying to encourage him to do his work. "Be positive" is a motto. But that works for younger kids, not for the older ones.
The younger kids are still ready to please and they are generally scared of authority. Older kids couldn't give two shits. They know you can't do anything much to them. They're onto the academic game instilled by teachers. Hell, some of them are taller than me. Why should they listen?
I need a bullhorn.
Once I got them settled (slightly), one of the students was sitting back, pencil down, head back, obviously not going to do any work. I would have been fine with that (it's his grade, not mine) but he was tapping his feet and his pencil. So I said, "Look, I don't care if you do the work or not, it's your grade, not mine, but be quiet while you're not doing anything." The other students did the whole "Ohhhh...she told you" type thing. The minute I said it I regretted it because I was scared another teacher would hear me and accuse me of condoning failure and not trying to encourage him to do his work. "Be positive" is a motto. But that works for younger kids, not for the older ones.
The younger kids are still ready to please and they are generally scared of authority. Older kids couldn't give two shits. They know you can't do anything much to them. They're onto the academic game instilled by teachers. Hell, some of them are taller than me. Why should they listen?
I need a bullhorn.