Exhausted

Getting back into the swing of things has been a bit exhausting. I'll blame my hiatus on that! Since my last post I have finished my first two weeks of teaching. There has been much confusion, lots of good and and lots of bad. I must say that the kids have been pretty great so far. Not that is should be any different, but right now they are the best thing about my job. The administration and district is another story. I have just never seen a school or corporation so unorganized. Not that I have had a lot of experience in other schools and corporations, but it is a bit ridiculous, to say the least. But I'm going to try to stay away from that - stay positive. So let's talk about the kids and the teaching part.

I've only been teaching for two weeks and I am surprised how much I can tell that the students like me. It was my main goal to reach the students as quickly as possible. In the experience that I have had, I knew that if a student doesn't like you, doesn't believe that you can about him/her, that person will not perform for you. These are the strategies (if you want to call it that) that I have done to reach my students.

1. Talk to them like they are real people. Well of course they are real people, but I've heard many students say that teachers don't treat them like equals. Some teachers talk down to their students because they are "below them." I just don't believe this. I firmly believe that you must respect the students in order for them to respect you in return. It's a two-way street. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It is the golden rule.
2. This goes along with the first somewhat, but I talk to my students. Ask them how they are doing. Ask them about their lives, about family, sports, etc. This demonstrates to my students that I care about them. Children are not stupid; they can sniff out a fake very quickly.
3. I am fair. This includes not calling on the same students all of the time. So many times, we only call on the people that volunteer. It seems like it isn't fair that I would call on students that don't have the answers because they weren't paying attention. But I believe that by doing this it sends a clear message: I expect you to be on task at all times. And even if you don't know the answer, I won't embarrass you and will help you through the problem every time.
4. Again, this goes along with number 3. I work hard to be very clear about my expectations. As long as I am constantly going over what I expect and don't expect, they students can't say 'I didn't know.' While most students don't want to admit that they like structure, THEY REALLY DO. They want to know what to expect. So many students rely on school to be their constant because they may not get it at home. Stability is very important for students to find success.

This is just a short list, and it seems very simple to go by, but it does take careful thought and lots of work to get the students on your side. Middle schoolers are very unique children and it definitely takes a special person to work with them. It's a very crazy time in their lives and at times, it can be extremely stressful to teach this age. But I must say, that so far, it has been rewarding.