School Thoughts
Jul. 28th, 2006 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
learnteachSome interesting things. Not real earthshattering.
Got to spend some one on one time (well, one on three, but it's so much better than one on 37) time with the students today, while making waterballoons. Fascinating. What an interesting bunch of people. I do believe everyone is interesting.
One of the students (not of the small group) is an Angry Young Man. Well, actually, he's a Violent Young Man. In the first week's waterballoon fight, he organized a plot so that he could run up behind me and hit me in the back off the head as hard as he could with the largest (probably 2 pound) water balloon he could get. It worked. We instituted the no head shot and no overhand rule (L\ did, actually, she has more experience) and I talked with him. He was gloating.
Since I've started handing out "stumps", for stumping the teacher with a question, some of the students have become very irritating about it. VYM was denied a question that was essentially the same as someone elses (the difference between the questions was whether the answer was expressed as a percentage or as an absolute.) He can't let go of it. It's not that it's unjust, it's that by the rules I should allow the question. So, today, knowing the new rules, he threw a sidearm balloon as hard as he could from about 4 feet away straight into my face--starting from the side, but I was tracking him. BAM! Instant headache. I yanked him off the activity and asked him why he did that, and his response was "It was legal within the rules." I told him he needs to look at the spirit of the rules, and he said he couldn't interpret what (duh, obviously stupid) teachers thought.
After much cogitation on this, and given that I don't believe people are inherently violent (he's not that violent in his class area) perhaps I've triggered his competitiveness. I'm not at all competitive in the sense of having to win over all obstacles (I just hate to lose stupidly.)
So, the new rule? No water balloons for him. And never, ever turn my back on him.
Had a conversation with the Admin. Tried to explain my point of view (Livid at behaviour, etc.) Didn't communicate it well, didn't really get my point across. Need to re-examine my assumptions, and try to keep her out of the classroom. She's more than willing to do the direct order thing. She just told me that she was "overwhelmed" the week everything needed to be done and that we seemed to be recovering OK. I mentioned my higher standards and how much of the recovery work was mine, and she expressed admiration for how well I handled it.
I was ready to just start screaming at that point, but what would it accomplish?
Another student (for simplicity sake, call him AJ--Always Jesting) is also getting on my nerves. He won't stop asking for things. It's like a three year old. But it works, if the structure isn't tight enough--he asks every staff member multiple times, with a smile, interrupting you, jumping up and down, and if you refuse or deny, he just makes the rounds and asks again. I'm ready to slap him, but I can't deny that it's not effective. He'll probably end up running his own company--that's what his dad does--and there, is it a bad behaviour? I guess it irks me most that he takes up so much time with this behaviour. And, of course, the "Why Not?" whine.
The second set of classes has not gone as well as the first; the disorganization inherent in rearranging the schedule due to lack of materials has had me drop a lot of the minor lectures.
Today I was taught how to play 4 Corners. I made it 6 corners, and added the rule that if you could answer a question on the subject matter, you could stay in the game. Very entertaining. Running around is fun.
Short notes: Check for latex allergies on the sheets before letting students volunteer to fill water balloons. Test all knowledge the next day. Assign homework even if they whine. Get all staff to understand my rules.
I'm getting a clearer appreciation for the job. Hope I can get a gig for next year.
Got to spend some one on one time (well, one on three, but it's so much better than one on 37) time with the students today, while making waterballoons. Fascinating. What an interesting bunch of people. I do believe everyone is interesting.
One of the students (not of the small group) is an Angry Young Man. Well, actually, he's a Violent Young Man. In the first week's waterballoon fight, he organized a plot so that he could run up behind me and hit me in the back off the head as hard as he could with the largest (probably 2 pound) water balloon he could get. It worked. We instituted the no head shot and no overhand rule (L\ did, actually, she has more experience) and I talked with him. He was gloating.
Since I've started handing out "stumps", for stumping the teacher with a question, some of the students have become very irritating about it. VYM was denied a question that was essentially the same as someone elses (the difference between the questions was whether the answer was expressed as a percentage or as an absolute.) He can't let go of it. It's not that it's unjust, it's that by the rules I should allow the question. So, today, knowing the new rules, he threw a sidearm balloon as hard as he could from about 4 feet away straight into my face--starting from the side, but I was tracking him. BAM! Instant headache. I yanked him off the activity and asked him why he did that, and his response was "It was legal within the rules." I told him he needs to look at the spirit of the rules, and he said he couldn't interpret what (duh, obviously stupid) teachers thought.
After much cogitation on this, and given that I don't believe people are inherently violent (he's not that violent in his class area) perhaps I've triggered his competitiveness. I'm not at all competitive in the sense of having to win over all obstacles (I just hate to lose stupidly.)
So, the new rule? No water balloons for him. And never, ever turn my back on him.
Had a conversation with the Admin. Tried to explain my point of view (Livid at behaviour, etc.) Didn't communicate it well, didn't really get my point across. Need to re-examine my assumptions, and try to keep her out of the classroom. She's more than willing to do the direct order thing. She just told me that she was "overwhelmed" the week everything needed to be done and that we seemed to be recovering OK. I mentioned my higher standards and how much of the recovery work was mine, and she expressed admiration for how well I handled it.
I was ready to just start screaming at that point, but what would it accomplish?
Another student (for simplicity sake, call him AJ--Always Jesting) is also getting on my nerves. He won't stop asking for things. It's like a three year old. But it works, if the structure isn't tight enough--he asks every staff member multiple times, with a smile, interrupting you, jumping up and down, and if you refuse or deny, he just makes the rounds and asks again. I'm ready to slap him, but I can't deny that it's not effective. He'll probably end up running his own company--that's what his dad does--and there, is it a bad behaviour? I guess it irks me most that he takes up so much time with this behaviour. And, of course, the "Why Not?" whine.
The second set of classes has not gone as well as the first; the disorganization inherent in rearranging the schedule due to lack of materials has had me drop a lot of the minor lectures.
Today I was taught how to play 4 Corners. I made it 6 corners, and added the rule that if you could answer a question on the subject matter, you could stay in the game. Very entertaining. Running around is fun.
Short notes: Check for latex allergies on the sheets before letting students volunteer to fill water balloons. Test all knowledge the next day. Assign homework even if they whine. Get all staff to understand my rules.
I'm getting a clearer appreciation for the job. Hope I can get a gig for next year.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-29 07:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-31 02:18 am (UTC)From your description there are two young men in your class who have issues with authority. Good thing you will not have to deal with them much longer.