After my last post, I went into teaching 5th period with the mindset that something had to give. My teacher made a comment that really made me think when she told me that “someone is bound to be miserable in this situation – either it’s you from having to work with their behavior, or it’s them having to choose between toning it down or getting referrals.” It sounded so detached, but at the heart of her point, she was right. At the end of the day, I don’t want to have to dread going to school or dealing with a specific class. And if that means cracking down at the expense of their short term happiness – so be it. All of this is fresh in my head until I went into class – and they were uncharacteristically well-behaved.
It’s weird how jarring good behavior can be when you’re not used to it. The entire time I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, since there was just NO way they would be good the whole class. But they were. Not only were they good that class, but they were good for the rest of the week. I’m not sure yet what to attribute it to, but I think it’s due in part to three things.
1. We gave them their interim grades and when some of them saw how bad they were doing, I think/hope it put them in line.
2. Two of the ringleaders have been absent for the past few days…I feel bad reveling in it, but in all honesty – I secretly rejoiced when I saw their name on the absentee list.
3. I stopped getting bogged down with their behavior, and tried just to have fun with the good ones. I had to kick out my first student from that class last week, and instead of letting it be obvious that I was frustrated, I just told myself “I don’t care” and tried to still have fun with it.
I’ll keep tabs as to whether or not this maintains, but I’m starting to think that this might be a class that has their good days and their bad days. In addition to being highly affected by the presence of other students, and my own moods. Who knows, maybe there’s hope for them yet!