Oops.. over a month since I've updated. School is almost over, and I'm trying to figure out how to keep my students busy. Yesterday we cleared the desks and sat on the floor to discuss high school. It was nice. I think I will do these class meetings once a month next year. Sitting on the floor suddenly makes everyone more comfortable. Today I asked students to write about the best and worst experiences of the year. I told them this was my first year, and many of them were surprised. They thought I had been teaching longer. Many students said they loved the class, many said the class was boring at the beginning of the year, but it's better now. This I knew. I had a lot of boring lessons. I realize now how fun and interactive lessons need to be, and I really worry about how to integrate that with the textbooks next year. I think I've been teaching like I would teach high-schoolers for most of this year.
I also asked them to write advice or warning to next year's students. Many of them said to not get on my bad side and not to get me mad. I thought this was strange, but then they said that it was rare that I got mad, but when I was mad I was scary. One girl compared me to a volcano. I did not know this about myself, and am not sure if this is a good or bad thing. The 7th graders I student taught said I should be meaner. I don't think I instilled any fear in my students. Maybe I did. Maybe they're worse in other classes. Maybe I have no idea how bad they can get. Maybe some teachers are more tolerant. My principal complemented my classroom management to one of my co-workers with problems in that area. Personally, I feel out of control half the time. I actually don't really like that I can get really mean sometimes. I wish that there was a way to have fun teaching while maintaining peace at the same time. I like that I'm so mellow and calm. I think good classroom management comes from respect from your students. I was asked by this other teacher what my strategies are, and I really don't have any. I just feel respected. Most of the time. Maybe class meetings will help next year. One student's advice was, "we really are like dogs. Reward us and we'll do what you want." This is kinda sad... Maybe to earn respect you have to give candy...
I think I'm going to be a pretty good teacher someday. I'm looking forward to starting fresh next year - I'm so must more confident and relaxed than I was the beginning of this year. A girl I met at our yard sale a couple weeks ago signed up for my Broadcast class only because she wants to be my student. What a nice complement. I'm really going to miss this year's group, though.