Day 176: Counting the Hours
I'm not sure if I have my counting right; 177 doesn't sound like the right number of days my kids are required to be in school. Either way, I have one more class who needs to present their websites tomorrow, then I am hormone-free until August. I specially thanked all my students today, confessing that this was, in fact, my first year teaching. I asked them to give me some feedback anonymously on my class - what did I do well, what would they like to see less of? I ignored most of the negatives - "I didn't like when you took my phone away" "I think we should watch more movies". One thing did come up a few times, though...
I think in my desire to appear witty, I do sometimes make fun of kids who don't always appreciate being called out. Sometimes peer pressure can be a very valuable tool, like when the students are really engaged in a lesson and another student keeps interrupting and they actually shush him or her. Sometimes, it doesn't serve its purpose, like today, when one of my students who was the first one in the classroom asks to go to the bathroom 10 minutes into finals time. I told her she had plenty of time to go before class but she begged, so I made a big deal about it. My students KNOW I do not appreciate bathroom breaks 5 minutes into class...especially by those who had plenty of time at passing periods. I would've thought they would've figured that out by the second to last day of school. I guess this young lady does know this, and wouldn't've asked if it wasn't an emergency.
I wonder if I make fun of some students because a small part of me enjoys feeling a little cooler than the people around me, a feeling I did not experience when I was in high school. I guess I need to be a little more mature in my teaching, and that is one valuable lesson I can take away. I'm not a camp counselor, and I'm not a friend; I'm a mature teacher, and I need to use my tools wisely.
At any rate, for every negative comment, I probably had four or five completely positive ones. I told them not to sign it, and to mix it in with all the other classes so I couldn't recognize handwriting. Still, many signed them and delivered them personally, telling me they wanted me to know what they thought. One girl jokingly said her review was so complimentary that I'd probably keep it forever...she's probably right. They wrote such wonderfully kind, encouraging things that I know I will need to pull them out on my bad days to remind myself that I am making a positive impact on someone, even if I don't always find out until the end of the year - or ever. Sure, the comments weren't exactly constructive to improve my teaching on a practical level, they certainly made me feel good...especially as I grade website #20 out of 130, and grades have to be entered by noon on Friday, and I secretly hate my job with a small passion for causing me to get overexcited with final projects that take 20 minutes to grade...each...
I think in my desire to appear witty, I do sometimes make fun of kids who don't always appreciate being called out. Sometimes peer pressure can be a very valuable tool, like when the students are really engaged in a lesson and another student keeps interrupting and they actually shush him or her. Sometimes, it doesn't serve its purpose, like today, when one of my students who was the first one in the classroom asks to go to the bathroom 10 minutes into finals time. I told her she had plenty of time to go before class but she begged, so I made a big deal about it. My students KNOW I do not appreciate bathroom breaks 5 minutes into class...especially by those who had plenty of time at passing periods. I would've thought they would've figured that out by the second to last day of school. I guess this young lady does know this, and wouldn't've asked if it wasn't an emergency.
I wonder if I make fun of some students because a small part of me enjoys feeling a little cooler than the people around me, a feeling I did not experience when I was in high school. I guess I need to be a little more mature in my teaching, and that is one valuable lesson I can take away. I'm not a camp counselor, and I'm not a friend; I'm a mature teacher, and I need to use my tools wisely.
At any rate, for every negative comment, I probably had four or five completely positive ones. I told them not to sign it, and to mix it in with all the other classes so I couldn't recognize handwriting. Still, many signed them and delivered them personally, telling me they wanted me to know what they thought. One girl jokingly said her review was so complimentary that I'd probably keep it forever...she's probably right. They wrote such wonderfully kind, encouraging things that I know I will need to pull them out on my bad days to remind myself that I am making a positive impact on someone, even if I don't always find out until the end of the year - or ever. Sure, the comments weren't exactly constructive to improve my teaching on a practical level, they certainly made me feel good...especially as I grade website #20 out of 130, and grades have to be entered by noon on Friday, and I secretly hate my job with a small passion for causing me to get overexcited with final projects that take 20 minutes to grade...each...
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