I have been overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to start all over -- a new school year and a new group of students. However, it is only March. Plus, what will I do differently when I do get to start over in the fall? I have no idea.
This last week I tried to pay attention more to what is giving me this feeling, is it something I am doing or my students or both?
It seems that what bothers me the most with my classroom management is the talking... and it fathoms me on what triggers them to work quietly, and what triggers them to talk to their neighbor.
I am not scared of a noisy classroom. I knew from the beginning that I want my students to have a voice in the classroom. I do not want them to be scared or anxious about speaking in my classroom because enough of them have enough negative feelings associated with math as it is. I figure the one thing I can control is my classroom environment, and yet I can't even control that.
I don't think I "trained" my students at the beginning on when they can talk and when they can't. Instead I have to constantly remind them, and that is tiring! Also, I have failed to establish that the talking and noise in the classroom should always be revolving around the task at hand. Which seems impossible with middle schoolers...At least I have time to figure out how to do it better next time.
A record of conference takeaways — TCM 2024
1 month ago
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Boy do I get this feeling, even in college where the semesters are shorter.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great book about transforming your class culture over the course of a year called Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller. It's a reading book, but there's a >lot< that transfers to any class.