Teaching Is

Teaching is

"Here, Miss Maddox, I made this for you. It's Catwoman."

"Thank you, [name of small child who has spent who knows how much of the day recreating Harley Quinn and associates on small pieces of paper]." Do I remind you of Catwoman?

At least she got her homework done.

Teaching is

Making Miss 7th Grade Math cry because I said she was running when she probably was just walking fast. We were playing a game at the whiteboard where they had to write the name of the continent or ocean on the correct continent or ocean. Don't worry, I knew she was fine when she laughed at the antics of a short boy who jumped to try to reach the top of the board so he could write "Arctic Ocean".

Teaching is

Drawing a world map on the board, freehand, because your computer crashed again right before recess.

Teaching is

Making your students pronounce Pangea correctly, because if they're going to insult your world map you've just drawn on the board, they had better say it correctly.

Teaching is

Wondering why there are students in your class who are supposed to be back in their homeroom at that moment.

Teaching is

Making the new student think you're crazy because you're hyped about reading "Frindle." And you're doing echo reading but your reading is WAAAAAY over the TOP! So she's super confused why everyone is excited about reading.

Teaching is

Trying to plan for the next day even though you want to go home and sleep.

Teaching is

Taking down the "Fidget Spinners for Sale" sign from a student's locker and having a conversation with the student that selling banned objects at school is a bad idea.

Teaching is

Observing another teacher's lesson at the beginning of prep so you can teach better.

Teaching is

Changing the schedule only to have your students point out that it's wrong.

Teaching is

Way more papers on the ground than have even been passed out.

Teaching is

"I'm cleaning under my desk, because I was putting my homework away and I realized it's a big mess down there."

At least he also finished his homework.

Breakthrough

Today I had a breakthrough.

Normally, breakthroughs are not things that are needed in the first full week of teaching. Normally, breakthroughs come when the teacher is exhausted, at her wit's end.

Today's breakthrough, though, came about because a student realized for one brief moment what it was like to be a teacher. This moment happened during math, when I'd given my groups an assignment and stepped to the back of the class to talk to another teacher for a brief moment.

When I returned to the front of the class, this student (Sir Talksalot) was not moving at his desk. His head was resting on his fist. The students in his group told me the thought he was asleep. He mumbled out a taciturn reply letting me know that he wasn't asleep and he was very, very upset about something. (It was one word. It was half a word. The other students had no idea what was happening.)

I helped his group get back on task, then had him come to the back of my classroom so we could talk.

"Sir Talksalot," I said, "what's going on?"

"THEM!" He said, not bothering to whisper. "They won't stop talking! I was supposed to read the question but they won't stupid listen! It's so stupid! They're being so stupid! I know what teachers feel like! They can't hear me! They won't stupid listen!"

Oh. I thought as I listened to his rant. A light bulb went off. Lightening struck my brain. Oh. They wouldn't stop talking? It was frustrating him? It was frustrating him, the student who would not stop talking from the moment he stepped foot in my class? The student who was only in my class for math and because of whom I gave my small math groups my class money?

OH. This was indeed good information to have.

"How does that make you feel, when they're talking when it's your turn?" I asked him.

"It's so annoying!"

"And frustrating?"

"Yeah! And frustrating! They won't know what to do because they won't listen!"

"Ok," I said, "are they the only ones in your group who are to blame for this problem? What I mean is are there more people in your group besides them who aren't listening?"

He thought for a second, "Yeah."

"Ok. So there are ways that are effective and not effective for helping people pay attention. And you've seen that, right?"

"Yeah, like asking them doesn't work. Like I say for them to shut their pie holes and they don't do anything."

"Right. Ok. So I'm going--Can I give you some advice? Is that ok? Ok, so one thing that works really well is complimenting the people that are listening. So if someone is paying attention, thank them for it."

"Ok," he said.

"And another thing is making sure to be the example. So if you're always paying attention then that's going to help them pay attention, too."

"Oh. Ok."

"So do you think you can do that?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Alright, head on back to your seat."

Tomorrow's math class might look the same as today's. It might look the same as yesterday's. It might look the same as Monday's. But he listened just a little bit more today after that. He sat up just a little bit straighter. He worked just a little bit harder.

And for me, really, that's a breakthrough.

Remember your Training

There's a scene in a Toy Story movie where a toy tells Jessie, "Jessie! Remember your training!"

To which she replies, "But I don't have any training!"

Today felt a lot like this. And the only trouble is, I've had training. A lot of it.

But tomorrow is a new day and I can do better then. At the very least, I'll have remembered my training. Or, you know, some of it.

Benefits of a Broken Desk

Yesterday in the middle of my fabulous lesson on the Constitution (read: students were paying attention, participating, and learning about how the Constitution and our class rules go hand in hand), LU's desk broke. We have the kind of desks in my class that are attached to the chairs and when I say her desk broke, I mean that the desk part of the desk ended up on the floor but still managed to be attached to the chair, which was upright.

How did this happen, you ask? Well, I accidentally gave the one already broken desk to one of my students who was going to figure out how to break it further. So of course, LU figured out how to break it further.

She didn't mean to break it more, I'm sure. Instead, what I think she was trying to do was get out of her desk. Why? I'm not sure. I was teaching, which meant she was supposed to be in her desk. But now it was broken so her sitting in it was no longer an option if she wanted to be productive.

So I had her move to the round table at the back of the classroom.

At first, I thought this was a bad move. She talked to the T.A. back there. She whispered to the T.A. back there. She listened to the T.A. back there.

And then, on second reflection, I realized she also was reading the constitution I left back there and adding to our conversation by saying things like, "We could do ____, because it says it in the Constitution." This was really cool because it helped the discussion like icing on cake.

Of course, her desk couldn't stay broken, and she couldn't stay at the back of the classroom (distractions and all that), so the Dean of Students at my school came and fixed the desk after classes ended. Which was really, really nice of him.

When LU got to class this morning the first thing out of her mouth was, "Yay! My desk isn't broken!" And, maybe unsurprisingly, she paid much better attention in class today.

We the Students

We the students of Miss Maddox's 6th grade class

Today we wrote our class constitution.

in order to form a more perfect classroom,

This lesson went way better than the one on Socrates.

to establish order,

This was partially because I totally knew what I was doing with the constitution lesson; I've taught it before.

to present ourselves well,

It was also partially because I do not know nearly as much about Socrates as I thought I did.

to create a learning environment,

The really interesting thing about it, was that I had clear expectations for the Constitution lesson. I knew what was going on. My students knew where they needed to go. They came up with what they wanted to say.

and take responsibility,

The Socrates lesson was not organized in quite the same way. Or even as much as the Constitution/Rules lesson was.

establish these rules

Though, come to think of it, the content was not bad.

so we can make progress in our selves,

But the management could have been better.

and our classroom,

In the end, I think something stuck. I think they maybe learned something.

and educate our lives.

Well that was easy: Day One

Things that happened today:

1. There was a wasp in my classroom. Don't worry, it didn't sting anyone. It didn't really bother anyone but me when I stood near it. It decided to hang out on the window until an aide helped me capture it in a cup and take it outside.

2. I told all of my students that when I was being shown my class list, they looked it over and were like, "Oh they're a good student. Oh that's a good student. Oh, all of these kids are good students. Your whole class is full of good students." I think they even believed me.

3. I used the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to set up rules for my classroom. This is a truly brilliant idea that I thank my mother for. What better way to teach that a classroom needs rules than to say that the early colonists wrote the Declaration to tell King George that here was the list of 28 specific rules that he broke in very egregious ways and they weren't going to be under that rule anymore. Then talk about how the most brilliant and bright men of each state was sent to a Constitutional Convention where they wrote all the rules they were going to follow. Then they all signed their names. We're going to do that tomorrow.

4. I learned how to use the laminator.


AHA! AND! I ordered Book Catalogs from Scholastic Book. Now my students can order books and I can get points and I can order books and get points and I can build my class library.

Things that did not happen today:

1. Death. Nobody died. I'd say that's a pretty big plus for me as a teacher.

2. I did not make anyone cry today. Also a good thing for a first day.

3. Dragons. Dragons did not happen today and I am informed there are none in my school. At least, none that will chase you down the hallways. The dragons on my wall are purely for show. They cannot come alive.

Probably.

4. A pencil sharpener that stayed working the entire day. Well, it's not like I haven't gone to the store almost every day for the past week and a half to get stuff for my classroom. So. I have to go to the store again.

But on the bright side, I have students who are more than willing to sharpen all my pencils for me. So that's a plus.