Today I had a student keep track of all the interruptions during my 7th period class, because there seem to be a lot and it is throwing my teaching off. I was curious how many there actually were. Celease counted:

12 Intercom announcements
5 Bells
2 phone calls
1 person walking in to deliver something (plus a student bringing me a cupcake, but I didn't have her count that one :))

That totals 20 times during one class--granted this class is longer than others, with silent reading time included--that we had to pause what we were doing, our attention was broken and we had to then get back on track. Let me tell you, 6th graders are not easy to keep on track at the end of the day. I am getting frustrated with all of the interruptions! The strange thing is, today, with the student keeping track and the other students conscious that these were interruptions and our learning shouldn't be interrupted, they actually got off track less. Crazy. Anyway, I think I might have a different kid keep track for a week and just see what the average is. I am going to use the data to try and push for some different systems for next year within the school. If we really are prioritizing student achievement, and students have consequences for interferring with learning, there won't be 20 interruptions in one class period.

Maybe, just maybe, it is possible to get my students so invested in learning that they do not even flinch at an announcement, but the truth is, i lose my train of thought when i have to pause mid sentence for a few seconds. Maybe I am just venting about things that are out of my control because i like to blame things on other people. maybe it would be better if i just focused on the things that are under my control. ah. there are a lot of those. things i could do better. such is life as a first year teacher. my brain is mush and my post is quickly deteriorating into a stream of consciousness narrative. I'd say it's time for me to get out of here!