9/18 Class Posting

Something I learned... In the course of our discussions about the various case studies, I was reminded that often, as teachers, we will struggle to find effective ways to deal with challenging situations. I was going to say that we would struggle to find the "best" way to deal with a challenging situation, but I don't think that is generally possible. Instead, we will try one strategy, monitor the situation, ask for help, talk to the student, do some research, try another strategy and so on. And when we think we've got a handle on it, no doubt a new issue will arise.
I also like the directness and simplicity of the question shared by one of my cohortmates: "What do you need?" The idea is that when we are concerned about a situation, one of the first steps we should take is to ask the other party this question. Note that the question is NOT: "What do you want?"

Questions I still have... Where do I draw the line in terms of getting involved with an out-of-school situation? One day this week a young man in my class was particularly "off the wall." He made noises incessantly, hopped out of his seat repeatedly, and seemed even more intent upon gaining the attention of the class than usual. When I spoke to him privately, he told me that he had not had breakfast, that there was "nothing" to eat for breakfast at his house because his mother was waiting for her next pay check. A classmate had provided him with two bags of spicy Doritos for snack, so he did have those mid-morning. Now, I do tend to be gullible, and I don't know the veracity of his tale, but I felt really bad for this student. I wanted to do something to make the situation better, but knew this wasn't within the scope of my responsibilities. (I did let my MT know what he had said.) I suppose that if I were the actual teacher, I would keep tabs on the situation, and consult with the school counselor if I believed that this were an ongoing problem.

An anxiety... Will I be able to control hormone-driven sixth grade boys in the spring when I take over full responsibility for the class?

Excitement about... leading more classroom activities. I am especially looking forward to leading more math lessons.