Re: Am I asking for too much?
Posted by ACP on 9/04/08
"Last year I would have totally lost it. I only lost it a little
this time."
LOL! You're making progress! Will any teacher who has never lost
their cool with a class please stand up. I didn't think so. :)
You are human after all.
"...but they all have a mind and I guess what really ticks me off is
when they clown around and don't try."
I think this must be the biggest frustration held by all teachers.
Many have totally ruined their health over trying to find ways to
make their students learn and enjoy learning. It took me three years
to fully accept the fact that I cannot make a student learn
anything. But I sleep a lot better now that I have accepted it and
when I get the lecture about how the teacher is responsible for
assuring students learn I just chuckle to myself. And now that I
have accepted the fact that I can't make them do anything, my stress
level has dropped, I sleep better, and I think I teach in a more
relaxed and effective way. In fact, when I do have those
challenging talks with kids I often tell them, "You know, you have
the power. I can't make you do anything you don't want to do, so I
am not even going to try. All I can do is control what I do and I am
going to tell you what I am required to do by my boss. I've noticed
that you (are talking a lot, not doing work, not paying attention,
not bringing homework,etc) and here is how he/she has told me to
respond to it. I really don't want to do that but hey, it is a
requirement and I think it is fair. Now I care about you and I want
you to be successful and what you are doing is probably going to
result in you not being successful. What is it I can do to help you
be more successful?" They'll say, "I don't know," or "nuttin!"
Then I reply, "Well you seem to be a pretty bright young man, I am
sure you can think of something. Try again."
"I know the world they are going to face if they don't take
education seriously and thats what frustrates me. I don't like
seeing them throw their education away even though I know I won't
save them all. Taking deep breathes, Ok let's begin again."
You will be surprised, these kids get the "future" and "real world"
lecture so much it has no meaning to them. When they figure out you
aren't going to yell at them, put them down, or ask them why they
did something, they usually will open up and be cooperative.
Think about your days in middle school. Would a lecture about how
you are throwing your life away really have made much difference in
how you behaved? I think that most kids never believe two things
they are always told: 1) If you work hard you can be anything you
want, even president of the United States. 2) If you don't work
hard in middle school you are throwing your entire life away. Yeah
right!
Good luck to you! Keep at it, it sounds like you are making
progress and learning as you go. That is all that can be asked of
you. Most importantly you seem to have an open mind and are willing
to make changes to get better results. Remember, small incremental
changes are much better than revolutionary change.
Posts on this thread, including this one
- Am I asking for too much?, 9/04/08, by Educated.
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/04/08, by ACP.
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/04/08, by Tom.
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/04/08, by EDucated.
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/04/08, by ACP.
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/06/08, by EDucated..
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/07/08, by ACP.
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/07/08, by Lee.
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/07/08, by Tom.
- Re: Am I asking for too much?, 9/07/08, by DL.
1996 - 2008. All Rights Reserved. Please review our Terms of Use, Mission Statement, and Privacy Policy.
