In all honesty, I have experienced a sort of "culture shock" at my cooperating school due to how different the classes are from what I experienced in high school. My first teacher, Mr. Magnetism, does not have to work hard at managing his class. There are only 15 students in the class, all of whom are attentive and motivated to work on their own. He keeps his door open (as does everyone at the end of the hall), so it is normal to have to listen to biology and chemistry lectures all during class. The class lessons are centered around the textbook, and though a few students are participating and answering questions, there has yet to be a day when at least one student isn't sleeping on his desk. Students in the back either don't pay attention or do homework for another class, and Mr. Magnetism does nothing to encourage them to participate. Although I've highlighted the negatives, the class is very enjoyable. The students are incredibly mature and Mr. Magnetism is able to make jokes with them and not get side tracked.
There is a HUGE difference in classroom management between my first block and second/third blocks. The main reason for this is because of the difference in student type in the classes. While my first block comprises of 15 college-bound upperclassmen, my Earth Science classes are quite a different story. Many of the students are on track to receive an IEP diploma, and more than one of my students are in the class for a third or fourth time. Overall, the maturity of the ES students trails significantly behind the maturity of my P students. My other teacher, Ms. Mesosphere, has a lot to work with. Though she has assigned seats, students still sit wherever they want. Students are often out of their seats doing things around the classroom, and I once saw a student yo-yoing instead of note-taking. I have to constantly be reminding students to do work and not get side-tracked, and boys are constantly tapping on the table or stomping their feet. Ms. Mesosphere does not have any problems with students listening to blaring music from their ipods while working on assignments, or playing on their ipods instead of working. I have talked with my teacher, and I think that after years of reporting bad behavior to administration with no results, she has given up. Again, I have highlighted the bad because my teacher does very little to manage her class, but I enjoy the students. The best way I have found to keep the students on track is to constantly be walking around the classroom and talking to individual students. The students, particularly in 3rd block, seem to need a lot of attention. By walking around the room, I've been able to meet all of the students and learn about them. It's hard to say what I would do because I feel that the class already knows what they can get away with. I have found that if I'm strict though, they will stop goofing off and do work.
Today while talking to a class, I inadvertently set myself up for a "that's what she said" joke. Ms. Mesosphere sent the student out into the hall who said it aloud, and I couldn't suppress my laughter, and naturally the class called me out for that. I'm learning that that is an aspect of classroom management that I had never put thought into, but that is something I'm going to have to keep an eye out for while teaching. It'll take practice.
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I was working on fetal pigs yesterday. My students are learning the reproductive structures for both the males and females. I was helping a group of students with the male reproductive system. I tried to say one thing, but what came out was a combination of two words that was rather, shall I say, not school appropriate. I was so embarrassed! I feel what you are are experiencing here.
ReplyDeleteOh geez.. that infamous "That's what she said." That happened to me today as well. But I feel like it's not avoidable. I mean, my goodness you can take any sentence and make it dirty. Really it's quite ridiculous. when that happened to me today, and a student laughed, I just gave them that "...really...?" look and continued on. It is embarrassing though... because I almost let a smile out.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I laugh at many of the jokes my students tell and I don't really feel like it detracts from the class. Some of these subjects are hard and sometimes humor provides a way for people to refresh and refocus. You just have to be sure that you can recenter the group quickly after such a disturbance...
ReplyDeleteAlso, one thing I have noticed is that since my classes are male dominated there is a lot of the immature/inappropriate humor that gets kicked around. I have worked particularly hard to make sure that I respond swiftly to that because while "that's what she said" jokes aren't a huge deal, it is an issue if somebody uses language that is inappropriate or makes a joke that singles out a particular person or group.
Who thought my sense of humor would be something I had to rain in to teach effectively?
Students do make jokes and I find myself trying not to laugh or smile! I think it is important to have a sense of humor to remind students that although you are the teacher, you are still human. It's important to remember that students are human too. Its okay to stray off topic for a little and then bring them back in.
ReplyDeleteI think its crazy about the ipods though! You will really need to demand respect when you start taking over.
I too have a wide variety of maturities in my classes. There is a big difference between Chem students and my Bio students. It does cause an adjustment in a matter of 5 minutes haha.
Good Luck!
I think it would be best for the teachers to follow the school policy. I'm not sure what your school's rule is for mp3 devices, but most of the schools not allow students to listen to the music during the school day. It's okay if your teacher doesn't mind, but when those students go into the next class, they will say something about "well... my science teacher lets me do it, why are you not allowing me to do it?" The school rules should be enforced consistantly to students throughout the school day, so students are not confused.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad, today I accidentally drew a penis on the board! That's right folks! I was drawing a planaria to show bilateral symmetry and as soon as I drew the body I almost lost it. I quickly recovered by drawing eyes! I don't like most of the middle schoolers caught on, though I did see a couple snickers! Oh well....I guess we are all learning to be careful what we say, do, and apparently draw in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that this thread exists because I have such a hard time not laughing at what the students say. My teacher was having an introductory conversation with students about chromosomes and she said, what makes you a boy or a girl? and at least 5 students yelled a penis! even though she was trying to elicit xy chromosomes as a response. I laughed with them, and my teacher cracked a smile but did an excellent job of diverting attention from that statement. I need to learn how to do that!
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