The Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Ugly

This teaching thing is hard! I had everything figured out last semester with my juniors, but some senior girls have attitudes like you have never seen! Of course, the boys are troublesome in their own ways. I just need to catch my breath and find my focus. Bear with me.

The Good:
-One student asked me, "are you going to be one of those teachers who works us bell-to-bell?" Yes. I am relieved to know that my actions alone have conveyed this.

-Today many students were shocked to receive their work back with comments -- one girl even thanked me for it. It made me feel really, really good.

-On Monday I had one of those "teachable moments." The topic of conversation veered away from what I had planned, but it was still relevant and the kids were totally engaged. It was one of those "yessss" moments.

The Bad:
-Talking! My cooperating teacher lets his students choose their seats. First period--41 students total--is always abuzz with gossip and laughter. I love that they are friends, but I cannot get them to quiet down! When I stop talking and wait, they will just keep talking or take too long to figure things out. Keeping them after class is not an option because I teach another class in a different room the next period. Today I told first period that I thought it was a matter of respect, and that since they are adults they should be respectful. It worked...okay. They are still kids in so many ways. I am thinking of a clever way to threaten them...perhaps giving them assigned seating would shake things up. It is hard doing things your way and still honoring your cooperating teacher. I cannot wait until I can set the tone in my classroom!

-I need to work on my wait time. This is nothing new. I must start pinching myself or something when I jump in. I get too excited. I am writing "WAIT TIME" on all of my lesson plans until this mission is accomplished.

The Ugly:
-Attitudes are a huge problem! A handful of students glare throughout the entire lesson. My attempts to reach out to them individually have not proved to help as of yet. Compliments and smiles are my biggest weapon right now. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I have been known to kill bad attitudes with kindness.

Existentialism in Thirty Minutes--Wow!

So I just finished up my first week of teaching seniors. This week tested my nerves in more ways than I can possibly say. However, I can say with confidence that I came out on top. And, I am a little bit tougher, too.

I was mostly nervous about Friday: we are reading The Stranger and I wanted to give my students some insight into existentialism. This way, they might feel more compassion towards the misunderstood and maybe-mundane Meursault. I didn't want to lecture them, so I broke them up into groups and asked them to share everything they knew about the word. Many students looked at the prefix "Ex" and thought about "existence" and "exit." Then I gave each group a cartoon (this was the fun part). Students made predictions about the message of the cartoon and what it said about existentialism. After that we took very brief notes followed by a quick and fun quiz -- "Are YOU an existentialist?" I was shocked to see so many students engaged by this, but I shouldn't have been. Of course connecting the philosophy to their lives and personal belief systems would make the lesson more engaging.

But I still haven't hit my stride or sweet spot with this class. Many of them are extremely disillusioned with school and counting down the minutes until graduation. I just need to keep chugging for now. Every day is a challenge, but luckily for me I like challenges. Now that the transitional period is over, I am eager to see how they act. I will keep updating.

First Day of my First Unit

Tomorrow will be my first day of teaching two reluctant and sleepy classes of seniors. One period in particular is hesitant to have me take over. They are afraid I will give them a lot of work. I think it is a fair fear. Afterall, I do want them to think and learn.

To say I have been obsessing over how I will set the tone for the class is an understatement. Teachers often advise me not to worry about whether they like me or not and to start things off firm. I think that is sound advice, but I am less worried about how they feel about me and more concerned about the classroom environment. I want to make their English class more than a place for worksheets, as well as uninspired and forced conversations. They are at such an exciting age--they are shedding, questioning, and gaining ideas and identities. I want to find a way to foster that and celebrate it. I want to feed their curiosity and make them the focus of the class.

Reading The Stranger is providing me with a great opportunity to do something fun and different. I have spent hours creating this unit. Students will look at existentialism and question how that fits into their belief systems. They will reevaluate the judicial system in terms of society's treatment of Meursault. They will listen to The Cure's "Killing an Arab" and question why popular music would be inspired by the novel. They will read a political commentary on President Bush reading the novel, and determine the use of a novel as a weapon or measure of intellectual status. I even have a clip of Talladega Nights that incorporates the novel.

So as I prepare for tomorrow's lesson, I have feelings of anxiety and anticipation. I am ready to get going and excited to share all of these cool resources I have slaved over. Now I just need to put things into practice. As I said, there is some resistance. After tomorrow's discussion and questionnaire, I will be able to better establish what I need to do to create this dream classroom environment. This is a class that will force me to go back to the drawing board and Fallbrook Library time and time again, and I am okay with that. Every time I scratch something out and find something new, my lessons are getting better and I am learning more about my teaching style.

This unit already looks great on paper, but I have yet to breathe some life into it. I will update as to how it shifts, stutters, and swaggers in motion. More to come.