Typing furiously at his keyboard, our hero realizes the terror that is 9:00pm on a Sunday night. Quickly switching gears and tabs, he valiantly types a post to please, an escrit to ascribe, a dictation to delight: Chapter 7, the movement.
So, not a lot of time to write. I've been working on edTPA quite a bit this weekend...again...because grad school? It's a lot of hurdles, and it will be worth it in the end. It's funny, actually, how the words we use to describe something affects how we view it. For example, on days when I call the edTPA a, "gigantic waste of time and paper," I put almost no effort into it. In fact, what I do put down is terrible gibberish that even an ancient Greek would think too incomprehensible to be called gibberish. However, when I call it, "something that I need to do," I do a fairly comprehensible job. And when I call it, "a way to strut my stuff," well...let's just say the rooster's not the only one who can be both prideful and flamboyant.
Anyway, this is my quick breather before I dive back in for about 10 minutes. So, here goes the plunge.
Monday was really cool. It was our first day back since the election, so the students were all a chitter about, well, things. I started both of my seventh grade classes with a little spiel about all being welcome in class, but by the great broo-ha-ha I will never tolerate one person disrespecting another (and, yes, that does include making fun of someone for supporting Trump). I also got to really rely on my Kindergarten training. See, anyone who says that it's a teacher's job to teach isn't lying, but they're not telling the whole story either. See, it's also the teacher's job to monitor the energy levels in the classroom, and make sure everyone's on track. So, if a class is almost falling asleep (I had several of those this week), it's my job to pump. Them. Up! (and next time, we will be doing the chicken dance). Meanwhile, if I have a class that's bouncing off the walls, it's my job to get them back in their seats. Before Kindergarten, I was really good at the first, and usually added to the second...which, to be honest, can work really well. I mean, catch the energy right, and it's like you're surfing on it. Catch it wrong and...it's less like wiping out, and more like being smash against the coastal glass-and-lemon-juice factory. Repeatedly. And with a vengeance.
Because of a year in Kindergarten, however, I have learned how to calm kids down when needed, which was especially helpful 5th period. We had 45 students (and I have to just say, that I am deeply proud of them) walk out of the school to join a protest. Most of them came back within ten minutes because they got cold, but it was still really cool. It also had all of the other students jumping around like goons. I mean, the "silent five" (first five minutes = no talking = golden classroom management technique) were turning into the "screaming futile." So, I sat down.
It really is amazing how much the energy changes when the person in charge (well, nominally in charge at that moment) chooses to sit down and be a calm center. It doesn't kill the energy. It focuses it. And it did. Like the other classes, I started by addressing them, but I used a different speech. Instead of everyone being welcome, it was that exciting events were happening, and that I recognized the importance of the events to them. I also recognized that the protests were a way for them to vent their anger that they had no vote in the system, and as such no voice, and that I valued their voices. One student was then cheeky and asked if his voice was valued, then why didn't he have a vote? I answered him that we could talk about that later, since we had a time built in to talk about the election. (Fun fact: it has to do with medieval ideas of chivalry. Namely, the coming of age for a boy was when his body was matured enough to take on the tasks of adulthood. That conception of the change carried over into the founding of our country, and so 21 became the age when people got the vote. We can all thank Vietnam for the impetus to change the voting age to 18.)
To be honest, though, it really is amazing how much people's reactions can change when they feel as though they are being listened to. Listening, by the way, doesn't mean that you hear the words that they say. It also doesn't mean that you plan ahead what you're going to say. Listening means that you give the person space to say what is on their mind, and you hear the message behind their words. For example, "If I have a voice, why don't I have a vote?" If I just heard the words, then it would be cheek, and I would have brushed it off to the side. However, by listening to the message underneath--"I hear adults say that, but because I can't take any actions and no one seems to be taking what I'm feeling seriously, so I don't believe you"--I was able to change that question into an answer that made the student feel valued.
Oh, and I really did answer the student. We ran out of time, so I made sure to call them over and explain it after class. I don't think that they were actually looking for an answer, but they've been a heck of a lot better with me in class since.
OK, other things: Still learning a lot. Still got legs. My seventh graders now have a seating chart (I had them come up with an agreement of how they would show me that they could get free seating back, and then had them come up with some things that I could do for them to get it back, because I always hated it when a teacher said that we could earn back free seating by being good, without ever telling us what that meant. We'll see how long this takes), and it's needed a couple of revisions. New Pokemon game, so my life is filled with excitement, and...yeah. It's a two day week, so this will be interesting. I'm starting Tuesday with a Free-Write in the library for the kids, and then planning on teaching them some Spanish songs for the rest of class. Other shenanigans coming soon. Now, BACK TO edTPA!
This has been another exciting adventure in the austentatious. If you liked it, tell your friends; if you hated it, tell your enemies; and if you don't care either way, then tell everyone. Good night, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment