This is absolutely normal--middle school moods are usually
like spring weather--changing frequently, drastically often
unpleasant, but holding such promise. : )
I have a rule for myself: Never, never take anything
personal. Especially when it comes to middle school kids, cuz
they're just not good at expressing their feelings or
ideas. "This is boring/hard/confusing" comes out "This is
dumb" or "I hate this class." I call it "kid code." As far
as eyerolling goes, I handle it with humor by saying, "Can you
see your brain when you do that?"
What I'm gonna say is a little different from the other
posts. I'd let it drop. I think the girl probably knows she
disappointed you, and with a little empathy for her POV, I
have to say it's irritating to listen to something you already
know. Whether she knew the material or not, is probably
debatable, but it sounds like her actions were a fluke, so in
your shoes I would move on and be just as pleasant as always--
BUT if her disrespectful attitude turns out to be a *pattern*
instead of a fluke, definitely do something.
I like to differentiate when possible, so if I really, really
feel like I couldn't let this drop, I'd get a few quizzes
ready for the next few lessons, and at the beginning of the
next lesson I'd say to her, "I've thought about what happened
the other day, and I think you had a good point. Here's what
we're learning next: _____________. Do you know this stuff?"
If she said she knew the material already, I'd say, "Cool!
Instead of making do work and sit through stuff you already
know, I've got it set up for you take the quiz early. If you
pass with 85% you can go read in the library while the rest of
the class does the practice work. Whatever you earn on the
quiz is what you get for the daily work or homework for this
lesson. Sound fair?"
AND THEN, while she's in the library, I'd make sure that
lesson is one of the funnest ever! The other kids would talk
and maybe sitting in on stuff she already knows wouldn't seem
so bad...
FWIW, ~connie
On 5/09/08, Cristy wrote:
> Yes, this is completely normal. Middle school students are
> famous for their attitudes. Remember that they are going
> through a lot right now in terms of personal changes. Their
> hormones are raging, their bodies are awkward, their
> relationships with their friends are changing, and they are
> beginning to think about the world more rationally but still
> don't understand that it doesn't revolve around them. They
are
> feeling older and more mature but are often still treated
like
> kids, so they test their boundaries and their relationships
> with the adults in their lives. Their daily lives are filled
> with enough drama to last them a lifetime. Do you remember
> your own middle school days? Crazy!
>
> As the other posters mentioned, be clear with your
> expectations and don't show them how much the eye-rolling and
> sarcasm gets to you. You can't take these behaviors
personally
> or they'll just eat you up. Definitely pull the student
> aside, explain why her behavior was wrong, lay out the
> consequences for a repeat offense, and leave it at that.
>
> Good luck!
>
> On 5/08/08, Shila wrote:
>> I am a second year teacher teaching second language and
>> math. I felt this resentment from few good students that
>> really confused me. For example, today when I asked a
>> student if she took her book back from my room without
>> telling me (I confiscated it from her yesterday) she
>> applied: “yes, I need to give it back to my friend”. I
>> pointed out that she was reading while the class was
>> watching a video and it wasn’t appropriate, and if I took
>> away the book she needed to talk to me to get it back. Her
>> response was: “I already know the staff, why should I
>> watch it”. She rolled her eyes and talked in a
>> disrespectful way.
>>
>> What bothers me is that this is a normally well-behaved
>> girl and one of the best students (academically) in the
>> class. I have never had any issues with her before. I
>> don’t understand why she showed such a negative attitude
>> towards me. I know that we shouldn’t take it personally
>> but I can’t stop wondering what I did wrong to make her
>> talk to me this way.
>>
>> I would like to hear your opinion on what makes good
>> students to be disrespectful (I think I have better
>> relationship with average students).
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Shila
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