So with all of my happy, positive "I love my kids" posts lately I thought I'd balance things out. They drove me nuts today. Maybe it's just a case of the pre-winter break crazies, but it's the most irritated I've been all year with them.
It started out with a new class that I have of freshman that just wouldn't stop talking. I was patient, and didn't yell but regardless of how many times I asked them to refocus they just wouldn't. With about 15 minutes left in the period some of them tried to start packing up. I was not pleased. Eventually I had to take a time out at my desk to prevent myself from yelling at them. They didn't get it. I asked them if this how they behaved in all of their classes and they said yes. That made me even more irritated. I started on the whole speech of how I don't really care how they behave in other classes, I never expect to have this happen again and all that. Blah, blah, blah. I don't think they cared. One kid in particular, however, I had last year and I commented to him quietly that I thought his behavior was so extremely disrespectful and I expected so much better of him. He actually felt bad and focused for the rest of the period.
The next period that came in is actually my favorite period but my mood was already ruined so I just wasn't in the mood to deal with more behavior issues. Without going into detail, they just pushed me over the edge with about 5 minutes left in the period. Like so livid I couldn't even talk to them. Unlike my freshman though, they know me well enough to realize what was going on and it made them very nervous. For the most part they calmed down and just stayed away from me.
One kid came to talk to me about what was wrong and try to help ease my frustration. He apologized sincerely for the things he had done that bothered me and promised they won't happen again (we'll see about that). He assured me that he had an incredible amount of respect for me and told me how much he really did appreciate all the things I am doing for him. He totally talked to me the same way I would talk with a kid that I was trying to calm down. I always get a kick out of it when they do that.
He must have really felt bad and/or cared because he also stayed to talk to/warn my next period class that they really needed to behave for me. I was certainly ready for the day to be over.
So yeah...most days my kids are awesome. Today, not so much. It happens.
Only 3 more days...
But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. -Albert Einstein
I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing a bad day too. Makes the rest of feel not so bad about having one of those days! We love your blog and all you do to inspire us. Happy Break! Amy in Nor Cal.
ReplyDeleteI always feel like it's my fault for not being more engaging...But in Math, I can always whip out a math game and that will suck up the rest of the period, so they can be noisy even while they're practicing math skills, and it looks good if the principal walks in.
ReplyDeleteSome days are better than others, even when you have a great group of kids. Your blog is filled with awesome ideas. Know that even if you have a bad day with your class, your blog is helping another teacher have a good day with theirs!
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