This is so un-school related...but hey, everyone needs a break, and outside of being a teacher, I have a personality!! :)
Monday, April 23, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
I always have a good story :)
So, I started my long term subbing job this week. Overall, it's great. Being in charge, having my mostly own classroom, getting to make decisions, getting to teach kids about things--all great!! :)
But, of course, there are problems with everything. For example, behavior. There are certain kids who will just go off into "I'm not paying attention to you" land, and there is really very little I can do about it. I can send a note home, have them sign the behavior book (which could also lead to a note home) and take their recess. That is honestly about all I have up my sleeves. When two kids in particular get into this mode--we'll call them C and H--they could not possibly care less about any of those things. So, my other option is to buzz the office and ask them to send the guidance counselor or the assistant principal. Yesterday, I got to experience what happens who you buzz the office, and neither of those people is available. C had gone to the bathroom, and another teacher came to get me to tell me he was wandering around and ignored her when she asked him to go back to his class. So, I ask the IA to please watch the class for a sec, and I go to get him. He is getting a drink, and I ask him to please come back to class. I stay between him and the way out of the second grade area--there will be no running on me again. He eventually gets back to the door, and runs in and shuts it behind him. Earlier, he had locked the door from the inside (he was waiting to go to the bathroom), but luckily I had unlocked it and I followed him back in. I got down and looked him in the eye and told him that behavior was not acceptable, and he should never ignore a teacher when they are talking to him, and should not have shut that door on me. I told him to sign the book; he responded that he didn't care anyway. I told him that I cared, because it made me sad whenever someone had to sign the book (he and I do fairly well generally, I was hoping to guilt him, honestly). He still didn't care. We had to have a spelling test, and I passed out the papers for the kids (the poor other 10 kids in the reading group were just reading silently during all of this.) I show them how to set it up, and C is continuously fake burping. The first time he did it, I said what I always say to the kids, "Please say 'excuse me'" And he said some kind of nonsense words, like woozle wazzle. And he said he wasn't going to say excuse me, just woozle wazzle. I said okay, if you want that to mean excuse me, then that will be fine, you can say that for now. He said no, i don't want it to mean excuse me! So, I told him I would have to call the office if he couldn't get it together, because he was not being fair to the other people in the class. He said he didn't care again, and I said he had one more chance to do what he was supposed to do (number his paper), and then I was going to call the office because the rest of the class didn't need to wait for him. He didn't care, and didn't do anything I asked him to, so I buzzed the office. They called and I asked for the guidance counselor, and they said she was in a meeting. The AP was also in a meeting. So, basically there was nothing else I could do.
Now, I have H in this reading group too. These boys kind of feed off of each other, and they don't generally get along so well. He and C both understand that that exchange with the office meant basically there was nothing I could do about whatever they did (the principal was out of town). So, they both start acting up. I have the IA, and she is there to work with ANOTHER student, M. M is doing fine at this point though. So, I have C making obnoxious noises and tapping the table, and trying to hide his dictionary under his desk, and I have H making noises and generally just not listening to anything. I kept trying to address the whole class, and point out what a good jobt hey were doing--I really don't like having to focus all of my attention on just a couple of kids, it's so unfair to the rest! I told the girls at C's table that they could move if they wanted to. One of them did, the other two stayed. C didn't know how to spell something, so he pulled out his dictionary. I came up and said no, that is not how we do spelling tests, and basically pried it from his hands. About then, the special ed coordinator came in, and BOY was I happy to see her. She told C that he needed to pull it together, because she did NOT want to have to stay after school with him, and her children would also be mad because they all had plans together after school. She generally verbally wrestled with him for a minute, and then told him he had 3 strikes, and then he would be staying after school with her. He was generally all together, but H kept having little outbursts. Basically, she was kind of putting out two fires for me, which I was finally able to circulate the room and praise and ask other students questions. It took us almost the whole class period to do this test, because of all the problems. The coordinator left after the test, and we went to read some Shel Silverstein poems--there was just no way I was going to try and tackle any more instruction, and we only had about 10 minutes left.
Here is the final part of the story. On Fridays, I draw names from the buckets that each class has. When I see a child doing something good, I have them put their name in the bucket (I call them the "good choices buckets"), and then on Fridays I draw a few names from each class. So, I got the bucket because I didn't want to deny that to the rest of the group, just because of a couple of kids. We always review that it's not a big deal if your name isn't picked, because there's always next week, and that it's great to just get your name in the bucket, and how proud I am of all of them, etc. So, I draw about 3-4 names, then it's time to go. So, I say that is all, and tell them great job for getting so many names in the bucket. At this point, M (from earlier, the one with the IA), starts to cry and says he wanted his name picked!!! I think he got his name picked during his Lang Arts class, so I don't get why this turned into such a big deal at all. H, being very impulsive with positive as well as negative things, offers M a top he got as a prize from another class. M takes it and throws it across the room. Immediately, C runs after it and picks it up, even though the IA tells him not to, because M should pick it up himself. C refuses to give it to the IA, and so she says "I am going to count to five, then I am going to take it" and that's pretty much what happens. So, M is hiding his head in his shirt and crying, and refusing to apologize. He keeps saying he doesn't want that, and the IA tells him he needs to give it back to H nicely then. I don't think that ever happened.
Whew. So, that is an afternoon in the life of me...I need to work with the guidance counselor to figure out something to do about those two, C and H...updates as I have them.
It's certainly not all bad, and I am SO glad I get to do it, despite the afternoon in the three ring circus!
But, of course, there are problems with everything. For example, behavior. There are certain kids who will just go off into "I'm not paying attention to you" land, and there is really very little I can do about it. I can send a note home, have them sign the behavior book (which could also lead to a note home) and take their recess. That is honestly about all I have up my sleeves. When two kids in particular get into this mode--we'll call them C and H--they could not possibly care less about any of those things. So, my other option is to buzz the office and ask them to send the guidance counselor or the assistant principal. Yesterday, I got to experience what happens who you buzz the office, and neither of those people is available. C had gone to the bathroom, and another teacher came to get me to tell me he was wandering around and ignored her when she asked him to go back to his class. So, I ask the IA to please watch the class for a sec, and I go to get him. He is getting a drink, and I ask him to please come back to class. I stay between him and the way out of the second grade area--there will be no running on me again. He eventually gets back to the door, and runs in and shuts it behind him. Earlier, he had locked the door from the inside (he was waiting to go to the bathroom), but luckily I had unlocked it and I followed him back in. I got down and looked him in the eye and told him that behavior was not acceptable, and he should never ignore a teacher when they are talking to him, and should not have shut that door on me. I told him to sign the book; he responded that he didn't care anyway. I told him that I cared, because it made me sad whenever someone had to sign the book (he and I do fairly well generally, I was hoping to guilt him, honestly). He still didn't care. We had to have a spelling test, and I passed out the papers for the kids (the poor other 10 kids in the reading group were just reading silently during all of this.) I show them how to set it up, and C is continuously fake burping. The first time he did it, I said what I always say to the kids, "Please say 'excuse me'" And he said some kind of nonsense words, like woozle wazzle. And he said he wasn't going to say excuse me, just woozle wazzle. I said okay, if you want that to mean excuse me, then that will be fine, you can say that for now. He said no, i don't want it to mean excuse me! So, I told him I would have to call the office if he couldn't get it together, because he was not being fair to the other people in the class. He said he didn't care again, and I said he had one more chance to do what he was supposed to do (number his paper), and then I was going to call the office because the rest of the class didn't need to wait for him. He didn't care, and didn't do anything I asked him to, so I buzzed the office. They called and I asked for the guidance counselor, and they said she was in a meeting. The AP was also in a meeting. So, basically there was nothing else I could do.
Now, I have H in this reading group too. These boys kind of feed off of each other, and they don't generally get along so well. He and C both understand that that exchange with the office meant basically there was nothing I could do about whatever they did (the principal was out of town). So, they both start acting up. I have the IA, and she is there to work with ANOTHER student, M. M is doing fine at this point though. So, I have C making obnoxious noises and tapping the table, and trying to hide his dictionary under his desk, and I have H making noises and generally just not listening to anything. I kept trying to address the whole class, and point out what a good jobt hey were doing--I really don't like having to focus all of my attention on just a couple of kids, it's so unfair to the rest! I told the girls at C's table that they could move if they wanted to. One of them did, the other two stayed. C didn't know how to spell something, so he pulled out his dictionary. I came up and said no, that is not how we do spelling tests, and basically pried it from his hands. About then, the special ed coordinator came in, and BOY was I happy to see her. She told C that he needed to pull it together, because she did NOT want to have to stay after school with him, and her children would also be mad because they all had plans together after school. She generally verbally wrestled with him for a minute, and then told him he had 3 strikes, and then he would be staying after school with her. He was generally all together, but H kept having little outbursts. Basically, she was kind of putting out two fires for me, which I was finally able to circulate the room and praise and ask other students questions. It took us almost the whole class period to do this test, because of all the problems. The coordinator left after the test, and we went to read some Shel Silverstein poems--there was just no way I was going to try and tackle any more instruction, and we only had about 10 minutes left.
Here is the final part of the story. On Fridays, I draw names from the buckets that each class has. When I see a child doing something good, I have them put their name in the bucket (I call them the "good choices buckets"), and then on Fridays I draw a few names from each class. So, I got the bucket because I didn't want to deny that to the rest of the group, just because of a couple of kids. We always review that it's not a big deal if your name isn't picked, because there's always next week, and that it's great to just get your name in the bucket, and how proud I am of all of them, etc. So, I draw about 3-4 names, then it's time to go. So, I say that is all, and tell them great job for getting so many names in the bucket. At this point, M (from earlier, the one with the IA), starts to cry and says he wanted his name picked!!! I think he got his name picked during his Lang Arts class, so I don't get why this turned into such a big deal at all. H, being very impulsive with positive as well as negative things, offers M a top he got as a prize from another class. M takes it and throws it across the room. Immediately, C runs after it and picks it up, even though the IA tells him not to, because M should pick it up himself. C refuses to give it to the IA, and so she says "I am going to count to five, then I am going to take it" and that's pretty much what happens. So, M is hiding his head in his shirt and crying, and refusing to apologize. He keeps saying he doesn't want that, and the IA tells him he needs to give it back to H nicely then. I don't think that ever happened.
Whew. So, that is an afternoon in the life of me...I need to work with the guidance counselor to figure out something to do about those two, C and H...updates as I have them.
It's certainly not all bad, and I am SO glad I get to do it, despite the afternoon in the three ring circus!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
