Saturday, March 14, 2009

To write up or not to write up - that is the question

Spring break is still weeks away - and the kids have gone loony tunes. They are stealing from each other left and right. I wrote about my binder (which has now become the most wonderful binder ever, in my eyes, but that is neither here nor there). This week they have stolen a phone, an ipod, and someone's fundraiser - just because.

But my larger delimma is their behavior. Big Boy2 is still crowding the girls and grabbing their arms. Curtis is still talking all of the time or not showing up. Angry Girl is still waltzing in late and wanting me to verify that she was late - as opposed to her bringing a note. Soljah Boy still interrupts my last class.

Angry Girl really topped it this week. I gave them their last test to fix.
AG: Why are you always doing this?
me (puzzled): Allowing you to recover?
AG: Giving us work to do. Why don't you do this when it's convenient for us?
me: You're in my class. It's convenient for you.
AG: Why are you being sarcastic?
me: So don't do it. (to the class) Do you want to recover or leave the grade the way it is? (chorus: recover)

Soljah Boy leaves his gear in my room and picks it up the end of the last class. I have told him he will lose that privilege if he disrupts my class. So Friday, he picks up his gear and grabs a girl's notebook on his way out the door. She chases him - I chewed him out. If I write him up, because of HIS prior behavior, it'll be several days out of school. I am torn.

Chirper in one class HAS to blurt out things (Move your ugly butt! Why are you talking?) Generally this is when I am teaching and it is directed at another young man, but it is terribly distracting and he won't stop.

Curtis - wants the rewards and just can't bring himself to stay put or follow the rules. Have to love it.

Tom Thumb accused me of not teaching the material. He said I just tested them on material and people were failing my class and passing what was supposed to be a harder class. I pointed out that my class average pretty much tied to the other class (because I had calculated it 2 weeks before. And that the material he didn't test well on I had taught 3 different ways (lecture, hands on, and group) , tested (where they couldn't reproduce it), retaught by lecture, group, and graphing. And that was why they were reworking the test with a graphing calculator to help them with the material. My option had been to give the test again.

The day before - he'd been talking instead of doing the work. Yep, I can see how I am not teaching him.

How do I get them to accept the responsibility? When they do - they soar. When they wait for handouts, they drown. Daily Grind talks about teaching to where they are, forget the past. I still need to see the kids acknowledge that I can be a brilliant teacher - and I don't think I am - but they won't retain it without work on their part.


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