I have to admit that I got blindsided by that 6th period class that I mentioned yesterday. The fact that I have never experienced such an ill-behaved class on the first day of school threw me for a loop from which I never recovered. Today, I slammed down the hammer.
Within three minutes of ushering the students into the classroom, two of the students - two of whom shut the classroom down yesterday - were ushered right back out to fill out a behavior form in two other teacher's classrooms. They went through the whole hierarchy of discipline that I had managed to brief them on yesterday. In mere moments, these two students had received verbal warnings, gotten their name on the board, gotten a check next to their names, and then the next step was to remove them from class, which I did.
After these two students were kicked out, you could feel the belligerent energy seep away from the other students who had also been causing trouble. Once two of the ringleaders were gone, I was actually able to get through the whole syllabus with the class today, which truly surprised me. The class wasn't perfect - two other students got their names on the board with a check next to it - but I sent a clear message today. Tomorrow, I need to stay on them and let them know that I run this classroom, and not them.
The school day just ended, and I have already made (during my prep period) my phone calls home on every student I dealt with today. I am not going to let stuff go like I have in the past. I don't care if a parent starts to feel like I am harassing her/him from calling so much; if I have to call every day, if that's what it takes, then that's what I will do. The behavior at my school is abysmal, and if the administration is willing to throw up its hands in the face of it, I am not willing to do the same; not yet.
OK, I feel better. Thank you for listening!
Good Day to You, Sir
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." --Thomas Jefferson
6 comments:
You wrote: "During my 8th period prep, a student knocked on my door. She had been kicked out of another teacher's classroom and was sent to me."
This is not necessarily legal, based on the Calif. Ed Code. The code specifically says that a student who is kicked out of another teachers classroom for discipline reasons. I cite: "California Education Code Section 48910, section b: "A pupil suspended from a class shall not be placed in another regular class during the period of suspension."
Now, if your school discipline plan calls for use of a short term "suspension" involving disruptive students being sent to a "Buddy Room" or something like that, it is ok. But if a teacher suspends a student from their class for discipline issue "X", the kid does not attend a regular class.
Does your contract require you to "baby sit" a short term suspended student during your prep ? At my school, we do not send a disruptive student to "buddy room" of a teacher on prep.
Sounds like you are having phun already !
Hope it gets better !
The student just spends enough time in the other teacher's class to fill out a behavior (Character Counts) form, and then they go back to their regular classroom to try again.
As for coming in during my prep period, the sending teacher didn't realize I was on prep. He got his periods confused. First day jitters I guess!
Hang in there. We start back for inservcie on Friday with school to start a week from this coming Tuesday.
I have a few more days off and I am going to enjoy them.
I have a new principal this year. I will see how that works out.
Take care. I will be thinking about you.
Wow that stinks. When you are in that much stress on the first couple of days it doesn't bode well for the year. I hope it all settles down for you. We start the 28th. I have two periods of regular U.S.History and four periods of A.P.U.S. History. Very good schedule. Good luck.
GULP!
And I have been envisioning days where the only two sounds I hear are the scratching of pencils and the autumn wind blowing past my classroom door.
Back to the front!
Nice job of stepping on their throats. Keep it up for the next couple of weeks and you should be able to set the tone for the semester. Just start putting parents on speed dial and eventually they'll get the picture or they'll transfer their kids out of your class.
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