Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY
Posted by MMM 2nd grade teacher Florida on 2/27/08

I'm in my second YEAR of teaching (2nd grade this year) and this
EXACT situation fits me to a T.....I have kids that CONSTANTLY
get out of their seat to interrupt me, EVEN WHEN i'm talking to
an ADULT>..and i find myself snapping...explaining how
inconsiderate and rude it is to interrupt ANYONE..let alone an
ADULT..and how they are also breaking one of our class rules and
the AGREEMENT we signed at the beginning of the year...One of
the consequences is to put their name on the board and if they
end up with 2 checks they will miss our FUn friday celebration.
I have tried so many things with this class..that Positive
reinforcement is the closest thing to working that i've
gotten...and we're already 3/4 of the way through the school
year....and i'm seriously losing my mind too. I also pass out
gold coins to reward positive behaiviors..and the students can
cash in their coins at the end of hte week in the treasure box
if they have a total of 10...otherwise htey have to be saved for
next week. (Sorry about the typos...i'm typing extremely fast
right now)

Anyway..just wanted to let you know that after 2 years...i'm
going through the same thing...and it seems to differ from class
to class. My class last year was absolutely nothing like this.
I actually thought their behavior was bad...but when I got this
class I realized it was nowhere near this...and that honestly
last year I was being hard on myself! If anyone has suggestions,
I will GLADLY take ANY suggestions because I have been pulling
my hair out ALL YEAR. I separated all of my groups today and
made my students move their desks into straight rows..which they
will remain in until after Spring Break..until they can prove
they can follow directions..and I told them we will not be
playing fun games..just doing paper work ..so they can see how
good they had it before..(I know it may sound harsh..but the
students act so unappreciative all the time and very
disrespectful to me and each other.) We did a lot of hands-on
stuff before (that's the way I normally teach)- but they're
probably going to be in for a lot more boredom over the next
couple weeks...honestly.

I'm a little frustrated because just when I have a system in
place, I end up getting another new student...I've gotten like 6
new students this school year...and lost like 2..now at a total
of 21.which isn't bad compared to some states, but the
inconsistency is just ridiculous! (The coming and going isn't
helping the classroom management!)

MMM-2nd grade teacher

On 2/23/08, Kristy wrote:
> Gayle,
>
> Many teahcers feel the same way you do. Why? Because your
> situation happens to many teachers. I have a few
> suggestions. 1. Clearly state what you do and do not
> expect from the students. Say, "When I am the teacher...I
> expect that you raise your hand while in your seat if you
> have a qustion. 2. Write it down / make a little poster.
> 3. When a student does not follow the rule, do not answer
> their question or respond...just point to the poster. When
> the student returns to their seat and does the expected
> behavior kindly call on the student to answer their question
> or tell them you will be with them in 1 minute. 4. You must
> be consistent. I have even writen on my palm, "Raise Your
> Hand". It works, but it takes patience.
> "I don't get it?" - If it is the same five students every
> time, make it a part of your lesson plan to pull them into a
> small group right after everyone else is started to do a
> more intensive guided practice. Remember to ask questions
> about what they do not understand, sometimes they may not
> even know. You can also do talk-throughs...as a small group
> or have the student talk you through until they do not
> understand. Express that you want to help them and it is ok
> to not understand.
> Have a group reward for everone completeing an assignment.
> Look at positive behavior support articles for ideas.
>
> Kristy
>
> On 2/22/08, Gayle wrote:
>> I need help!
>>
>> I just finished my fifth week student teaching in a 4th
>> grade classroom and I'm losing my mind. I've worked with
>> students K-2 and middle school before, and I feel like
>> these 4th graders are the neediest kids I've ever met.
>>
>> During many lessons I walk students right through many of
>> their homework problems as examples, and always ask if
>> anyone has questions. Once they start working independently
>> on questions, five kids in the class always raise their
>> hand and say to me, "I don't get it!" very whiny needy
>> sounding. Usually I give them a couple of prompts to get
>> them started on the problems and they do fine, and then I
>> encourage with "You knew it all along!" but day after day
>> they will just sit and stare at their paper instead of
>> trying it on their own because they "don't get it." There
>> is no motivation to finish assignments, so if they don't
>> get it, they just don't bother.
>>
>> The students also come up and interrupt me when I'm talking
>> with other students. Today I was speaking with a student
>> during independent work time and a boy came up to me and
>> interrupted to tell me that when he went to the office they
>> gave him a new icepack. I snapped at the student that his
>> comment wasn't something he needed to interrupt me with,
>> and then I felt terrible about being rude to him. I don't
>> want to be a bad teacher who snaps at students. I
>> understand that these students just want approval, but as a
>> human being I cannot handle so many interruptions when I'm
>> trying to work with students.
>>
>> I've spoken to my cooperating teacher about this, but I
>> think she enjoys feeling needed because she always jumps in
>> to help students even when they don't need it. What can I
>> do to keep myself sane when my students are so needy in
>> class?

Posts on this thread, including this one

• Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 2/22/08, by Gayle.
• Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 2/23/08, by Kristy .
• Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 2/27/08, by MMM 2nd grade teacher Florida.
• Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 4/02/08, by Angie- 2nd Grade.
• Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 4/21/08, by Joey.
• Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 4/22/08, by Darlene.
• Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 4/23/08, by Darlene you left no message NFM.
• Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 5/22/08, by Diana.
• Re: Needy Students Driving Me CRAZY, 6/16/08, by Dani.

 
 
 

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