Attitude...with a capital A

WOW! What a rough week. It turns out that just like they can be amazing, 6th graders can be terrible little creatures when they want. I decided I needed to crack down on my students by consistently using our management system. It backfired in my face! Some of my students just don't respond to it well at all. Some of them check out, refuse to check back in and the day ends up being all about management instead of learning. This reminds me that regardless of what people have told me, I have to adapt my management techniques to different classes and different students. Friday finally got better. Some of my students and classes are needing more positive feedback...others are needing me to be more strict and hold them accountable--in a more real way than the management system that some just don't buy into.

It is a constant learning experience. As soon as I get one thing figured out, there is something new to work on. I think this is true of almost everything in life, but especially in teaching. I think/hope this week will be better. The math teacher and I did one day of lunch detention to make one of my classes do the work from a class where they were punks and just messed around. We will continue this as needed. I also made some of them call their parents and explain their behavior. The joys of working with little cherubs just beginning to go through puberty!

THis week we are starting writer's workshop, which means that I teach a mini-lesson and then the students get to chose their own writing projects to apply them. I am still working out how the logistics will work in the context of my classroom and given my students and how they work. That is a project for this afternoon. I am sure there will have to be some adapting as we go, but I think student motivation will increase a lot when they get to choose their own topics.

It is almost noon, which means, time to head out to a coffee shop to spend the afternoon planning! It is actually a pretty nice little ritual :)

On becoming a better teacher

Disclaimer--"better" in no way implies "good."

Four main things are helping me to make strides in the right direction. I really believe that all 4 of these things are leading my students to achieve more and more each day.

1. Balance. Trying to take care of myself, and spend less than 12 hours at school every day. Leaving more school stuff at school. I bought a bike! I went backpacking last weekend!

2. Organization. I've figured out some systems that actually work for me and my students that are reducing the crazy hurricane of papers in my room...thereby reducing my stress level.

3. Smaller Classes. We got a new teacher at semester, so our class sizes are more normal. This has helped in a myriad of ways. The most notable is that there are few enough kids in my classroom at any given time that I can begin to see their individual needs. Next step: actually address their needs. A big part of this has been to shift my mindset from thinking that my trouble students had behavior issues to realizing (with the help of my PD) that they are so far behind that they don't understand my instruction. It is better to be rebellious than to be labeled stupid. It turns out that I need to break things down MUCH farther for some of my classes and not rush things so much.

4. Differentiation. This is directly tied to number 3. Break things down for the kids that need it, provide extension work for the kids who are bored. Now I am better able to do this because I am not so overwhelmed by simply teaching the same thing to everyone.

I feel like something has clicked. I may actually be on my way to becoming competent. Let's not count any chickens just yet...

I still miss my friends and family in Oregon immensely. I wish more of you could come and visit and that everyone could spend at least one day with me and my kiddos in my classroom. It is such a funny place and they are so hilariously wonderful (and sometimes terrible). I really do count my blessings for getting to work with them. I only wish I was better and more each day to be able to give them what they need.