I just compiled this survey for my kids to take on themselves and on me for tomorrow. It’ll be interesting to see the results. Hope the internet is working, and kids can get logged in smoothly tomorrow. *fingers crossed*
A few things have stood out to me this week:
1) I’ve learned the best way to teach the Reading Like a Writer lesson the third time I taught it–asking which questions the reader is answering in their annotations.
2) I’ve pissed off one student with a detention which was deserved under the circumstances that I warned (talking one more time, after I took a Dojo Point), but also provoked by another student who didn’t get a consequence directly from me (although I referred the student to the guidance counselor).
3) In the above situation, I should have told the defiant student who would not (may still not) serve my detention that they do not dictate how I deliver justice (or something along those lines) in my classroom–they refused to go if the other student didn’t have to go, too.
4) Parent-conference/Open House night went swimmingly! We did it as a team, so the 4 of us 8th grade content and inclusion teachers sat together as if at a panel, so no parents could rant at us (none did).
5) I’m proud of my homeroom for discussing their “circles of control”–areas in their life where they feel they don’t have control and where they feel they do–during our Circle in REACH. It turned into a very organic and engaged conversation about controlling anger and its effects on your lives.
6) I’ve been a little lax and have been playing music a lot in class. The students are too comfortable. Get ready to ramp it up next week and after Thanksgiving yo. As in independent vocab studying and a Fishbowl Discussion.
7) I’m also more relaxed, because I’ve learned to accept having less constant, dictatorial-like control in the classroom. I’ve learned to be okay with some comments that are relevant to the discussion though occasionally called out. Some side conversations when I’m preparing something technical. Nothing major though, and still giving consequences for any breaches.
8) THE BIG ONE: My goal is to give more immediate feedback on written work to the students this marking period, as well as make sure I’m assessing their written work and dividing their progress into levels, so I know what they have to work on and practice more. More individualized attention and differentiation, I think. No more bullshit teaching just for the grade.
A few weeks ago, I was starting to feel like I was in this funk where everything was just done for the grade or threatened for the grade. I wasn’t assessing their work every day and how to clarify and re-teach it the next day. I was in a hurry to get through the material, because it was already the end of October, and we needed to finish The House on Mango Street and our “coming of age” unit. I needed to teach writing and grammar. Ah ah ahhhh!!
Every since the convention, I’ve had my head screwed on straight, but not tight. I’m more flexible and allowing for more time for better quality work–even though this week’s plans got all scattered, because one class had many students missing for half the block, and we also had an assembly today. Before, I could barely contain the idea of having classes doing different things. It just felt so overwhelming to keep track of everything. But now I feel like it’s no problem–and it’s actually better, because sometimes, after I’m doing a lesson for the third time that day, it’s like Urrrrgghhhh scripted. And not as good/productive as other lessons, why?? When I work with the specific group of students in front of me, I can see them more clearly and more individually and that can only be a good thing.
See? Told you I’d have myself together by November.
-the constant- 