Who Me? Discipline Problems?
Today there were some good things today and some really NOT good things. Let's just say that I was stuck with both halves of the 6th grade class for TWO periods in a row and that from the start I made them write sentences -my first mistake was punishing them and the second was making them write far too many- and at the break I didn't let them leave -but a teacher who came to help me let them leave- and then during the second hour my contact teacher -the one I don't like much- came and told me to take a mandatory break as the school had received a call from an angry parent because their kid had made a distress call home about me holding them hostage.
My 5th grade class is quite good. Even if my lesson is crummy, they still learn and love me as the same (and don't know any better). My 6th graders on the other hand, drive me nuts.
I wasn't sure how I felt about the pre-school up until about now. Before I sort of felt like a tag-along teacher and unsure of the schedule. But now, I am fairly certain that I like it a lot more, and what is making a big difference in how I feel about it is that I've received quite a lot of compliments about my work there -from Hajni my CETP program director, from András (Hajni's right-hand man here), from Pre-K co-teachers, and even Plum Pudding (the Pre-K)'s director! Suddenly, I feel a little more pride in what I do and I WANT to be there with the kids that much more.
So I am trying very hard to think about how to manage the 6th graders without them walking all over me. Truly, the kids aren't bad. It's five students that cannot stop talking, that say things about me or whatever in Hungarian (which of course I can't understand), and who don't do their work/punishments. I've already written in their books. I've already threatened them. One kid I make come sit at the front at my desk, and he makes a paper airplane out of his punishment paper. He draws lines after I threaten him and then he does something else to be funny. I make him write his sentences on the board and so he starts numbering them wrong all over the place. He drives me nuts!
Of course, after my contact teacher returned to the Teacher's Room, she had all negative things to say, as usual. She told me not to write an AGENDA on the board -she thinks I have them copying it down, still, since the first time she observed me, but I don't- when first she had said it was a good thing "but don't make them copy it down." She tells me I don't take any of her suggestions and I wonder what she's talking about. I've tried to implement all of her few suggestions.It doesn't help that the only feedback she had for me after the first time she observed me was the Agenda one, and "don't teach them grammar." Then Hajni and András came to observe me one day and their only feedback was "don't teach them grammar." On the other hand, I have Magdi, my co-teacher tell me "I gave them a quiz on the present perfect and they don't know it at all! All they knew was "The Mona Lisa was painted by so-and-so" construction. I respond "You guys tell me not to teach grammar. I've been trying very hard to do ONLY the exercises in the book like you guys have ordered me to do" (ie, they don't want me doing extraneous activities, which ironically is what I do in the 5th grade class -ie, the class that somehow manages to get all the activities done and have never been punished or yelled at, ever). Magdi says "you can teach them grammar! They're not learning it!" It's confusing. I try very hard to do only the oral activities in the book, and of course the children don't want to do them. Why? Because, as Nóra summed up the problem with my class at the end of her "discussion" with me today, "it's boring."
Then she points out that I would know how to treat my kids -"they're teenagers, not kids!"- and get them to respond if I had gone through my '4 yr teaching training program' (I guess it's longer in Hungary) and I say "but I haven't done that" and she -for the hundredth time I get told off for one of CETP's inadequacies. For example, Hajni tells me that my contact person is supposed to take care of so many/certaing things -like organizing my legal paperwork, getting this, arranging that- and then the contact person tells me I'm supposed to have done them, myself.
I tell you, working full time AND part-time is kind of crazy. I don't even have any way to sit in another teacher's class to observe them for techniques and ideas. I have to come up with all my own materials. I have to magically produce answers for art history questions for a pile of 6th grade art history books that I already spent 4 hours grading on Sunday -but couldn't finish because my book does not come with an answer key. The poor kids! Poor me!
I have a headache. I will drink some water.
I wonder if Teach For America, Mississippi Teacher Corps, or a regular ol' Teacher Ed program wouldn't help me fill in some of the missing bits. I like a lot of things about teaching. I just don't see myself getting the support here in Budapest that I thought I would be -for being a beginner teacher. I'm also pretty certain now that I never want to be put in a position -after this January- where my students (could) know more about a subject than I. There's no worse feeling than the guilt of standing at the front of the classroom having the kids read the answer out and not being sure whether or not they're correct.
I teach two classes -6B (12/13 yrs old?) and 5B (11/12?) that split into a and b groups that alternate each day. Also, I teach the whole 5B and 6B groups Art history once bi-weekly. (~11 hours a week). I work 24 hrs/week at Plum Pudding which is 8 activities (lessons)/week.
Plum Pudding includes such fun things as playing number games with 3 year olds (we play Hide-Shoe-and-Seek when they get squirmy), learning new songs, feeding them lunch and snack, taking them to the "Garden" for morning and afternoon recess, dressing and undressing them for the Garden, hand-washing, tooth-brushing, nap time (I never do the Sleeping Room because I'm the Native Teacher so I'm in the playroom then), I draw princesses, I read stories, I lead song time (that's actually quite hard), I teach READING to the 5yr olds and the brightest little 4yr old ever, and I have to improvise for all my other activities. It's not easy. My activities aren't always aimed at the right age group -ie, cutting and pasting was too hard for the 4yr olds, and coloring was too simple for the 5yr olds- and they risk being boring, too, but at least the topics change each week. Honestly, I'm still pretty clueless as to how to get all the children to participate during full-group time things and I am not certain about discipline, either. The longer I'm there, though, the more confident I am, and the better I know the rules. Also, I notice more often when children are being naughty. Too bad I don't know what to do when Moricz hits Charles with the truck, or when Vili kicks Maxim. I sternly look at the offender and demand they apologize to the victim -who, without a doubt was probably doing the same thing to the other kid- but then have no idea what to say to the victim kid to make it better. "yes, he hit you, I'm sorry!" ... :O
So what I could use are ideas on positive reinforcement in my 6th grade classroom. I have poster paper -I have to buy all my own materials- and stickers. I want to stop punishing children and make learning fun. I've already played a couple of games, which they liked, but then they get so loud and don't want to do the quieter work (from the book) afterward.
Thanks for your advice.
Monica-Sophie
My 5th grade class is quite good. Even if my lesson is crummy, they still learn and love me as the same (and don't know any better). My 6th graders on the other hand, drive me nuts.
I wasn't sure how I felt about the pre-school up until about now. Before I sort of felt like a tag-along teacher and unsure of the schedule. But now, I am fairly certain that I like it a lot more, and what is making a big difference in how I feel about it is that I've received quite a lot of compliments about my work there -from Hajni my CETP program director, from András (Hajni's right-hand man here), from Pre-K co-teachers, and even Plum Pudding (the Pre-K)'s director! Suddenly, I feel a little more pride in what I do and I WANT to be there with the kids that much more.
So I am trying very hard to think about how to manage the 6th graders without them walking all over me. Truly, the kids aren't bad. It's five students that cannot stop talking, that say things about me or whatever in Hungarian (which of course I can't understand), and who don't do their work/punishments. I've already written in their books. I've already threatened them. One kid I make come sit at the front at my desk, and he makes a paper airplane out of his punishment paper. He draws lines after I threaten him and then he does something else to be funny. I make him write his sentences on the board and so he starts numbering them wrong all over the place. He drives me nuts!
Of course, after my contact teacher returned to the Teacher's Room, she had all negative things to say, as usual. She told me not to write an AGENDA on the board -she thinks I have them copying it down, still, since the first time she observed me, but I don't- when first she had said it was a good thing "but don't make them copy it down." She tells me I don't take any of her suggestions and I wonder what she's talking about. I've tried to implement all of her few suggestions.It doesn't help that the only feedback she had for me after the first time she observed me was the Agenda one, and "don't teach them grammar." Then Hajni and András came to observe me one day and their only feedback was "don't teach them grammar." On the other hand, I have Magdi, my co-teacher tell me "I gave them a quiz on the present perfect and they don't know it at all! All they knew was "The Mona Lisa was painted by so-and-so" construction. I respond "You guys tell me not to teach grammar. I've been trying very hard to do ONLY the exercises in the book like you guys have ordered me to do" (ie, they don't want me doing extraneous activities, which ironically is what I do in the 5th grade class -ie, the class that somehow manages to get all the activities done and have never been punished or yelled at, ever). Magdi says "you can teach them grammar! They're not learning it!" It's confusing. I try very hard to do only the oral activities in the book, and of course the children don't want to do them. Why? Because, as Nóra summed up the problem with my class at the end of her "discussion" with me today, "it's boring."
Then she points out that I would know how to treat my kids -"they're teenagers, not kids!"- and get them to respond if I had gone through my '4 yr teaching training program' (I guess it's longer in Hungary) and I say "but I haven't done that" and she -for the hundredth time I get told off for one of CETP's inadequacies. For example, Hajni tells me that my contact person is supposed to take care of so many/certaing things -like organizing my legal paperwork, getting this, arranging that- and then the contact person tells me I'm supposed to have done them, myself.
I tell you, working full time AND part-time is kind of crazy. I don't even have any way to sit in another teacher's class to observe them for techniques and ideas. I have to come up with all my own materials. I have to magically produce answers for art history questions for a pile of 6th grade art history books that I already spent 4 hours grading on Sunday -but couldn't finish because my book does not come with an answer key. The poor kids! Poor me!
I have a headache. I will drink some water.
I wonder if Teach For America, Mississippi Teacher Corps, or a regular ol' Teacher Ed program wouldn't help me fill in some of the missing bits. I like a lot of things about teaching. I just don't see myself getting the support here in Budapest that I thought I would be -for being a beginner teacher. I'm also pretty certain now that I never want to be put in a position -after this January- where my students (could) know more about a subject than I. There's no worse feeling than the guilt of standing at the front of the classroom having the kids read the answer out and not being sure whether or not they're correct.
I teach two classes -6B (12/13 yrs old?) and 5B (11/12?) that split into a and b groups that alternate each day. Also, I teach the whole 5B and 6B groups Art history once bi-weekly. (~11 hours a week). I work 24 hrs/week at Plum Pudding which is 8 activities (lessons)/week.
Plum Pudding includes such fun things as playing number games with 3 year olds (we play Hide-Shoe-and-Seek when they get squirmy), learning new songs, feeding them lunch and snack, taking them to the "Garden" for morning and afternoon recess, dressing and undressing them for the Garden, hand-washing, tooth-brushing, nap time (I never do the Sleeping Room because I'm the Native Teacher so I'm in the playroom then), I draw princesses, I read stories, I lead song time (that's actually quite hard), I teach READING to the 5yr olds and the brightest little 4yr old ever, and I have to improvise for all my other activities. It's not easy. My activities aren't always aimed at the right age group -ie, cutting and pasting was too hard for the 4yr olds, and coloring was too simple for the 5yr olds- and they risk being boring, too, but at least the topics change each week. Honestly, I'm still pretty clueless as to how to get all the children to participate during full-group time things and I am not certain about discipline, either. The longer I'm there, though, the more confident I am, and the better I know the rules. Also, I notice more often when children are being naughty. Too bad I don't know what to do when Moricz hits Charles with the truck, or when Vili kicks Maxim. I sternly look at the offender and demand they apologize to the victim -who, without a doubt was probably doing the same thing to the other kid- but then have no idea what to say to the victim kid to make it better. "yes, he hit you, I'm sorry!" ... :O
So what I could use are ideas on positive reinforcement in my 6th grade classroom. I have poster paper -I have to buy all my own materials- and stickers. I want to stop punishing children and make learning fun. I've already played a couple of games, which they liked, but then they get so loud and don't want to do the quieter work (from the book) afterward.
Thanks for your advice.
Monica-Sophie