Just about ready to throw the towel in

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Just about ready to throw the towel in

by Victoria

Sep 13, 2010

I could use some words of advice, encouragement, etc. I am in my 3rd year of teaching gifted pull-out and I'm almost ready to go back to the regular classroom.

I teach 2nd-8th graders, a total of 46 students. I have 23 at the elementary and I'm doing fine with them. They are divided into three groups--10 2nd/3rd graders, 6 4th graders, and 7 5th graders. I can give them challenging assignments and they jump at them. Right now my older students are writing speeches. You would think they would be whining (b/c they hate to write) but they aren't. They are doing an amazing job.

My biggest problem is the middle school and I'm not sure how to turn it around anymore. There are two periods with 12 in first and 11 in 2nd. They are mixed 6th, 7th, and 8th graders which is awful. Until middle school, they are mostly in their own grade level and but then at 6th grade, they are not only split apart but they are mixed in with older students.

My oldest group has only had ...See MoreI could use some words of advice, encouragement, etc. I am in my 3rd year of teaching gifted pull-out and I'm almost ready to go back to the regular classroom.

I teach 2nd-8th graders, a total of 46 students. I have 23 at the elementary and I'm doing fine with them. They are divided into three groups--10 2nd/3rd graders, 6 4th graders, and 7 5th graders. I can give them challenging assignments and they jump at them. Right now my older students are writing speeches. You would think they would be whining (b/c they hate to write) but they aren't. They are doing an amazing job.

My biggest problem is the middle school and I'm not sure how to turn it around anymore. There are two periods with 12 in first and 11 in 2nd. They are mixed 6th, 7th, and 8th graders which is awful. Until middle school, they are mostly in their own grade level and but then at 6th grade, they are not only split apart but they are mixed in with older students.

My oldest group has only had me at the middle school level and they are very negative and complain about everything we do. I have tried time and again to get them on a more positive note. I have encouraged them to submit ideas to make it more interesting. It doesn't matter what we do, they complain. They would be happiest sitting around, talking all the time, not doing anything. Or playing games every day. I actually had one suggest (joking I hope) that if we can't play games everyday, then let them play them 4 days and do the reading stuff on Fridays.

One of the things they don't like is that when I came on board, they changed the rules for our class and began insisting we cover reading in addition to our gifted objectives, since they are taking gifted in place of reading at the 7th and 8th grade level but are still being tested on it.

So now I have to teach reading concepts which they balk at. But they don't want to leave gifted because then they'd have to take it all the time. It's like "I'll take gifted so I don't have to take reading, but that's the only reason I'm taking it." I've tried talking to them in a professional way, encouraging them, etc., NOTHING WORKS.

What's worse, the bad attitude trickles to the next grade level and then the next. My 6th graders have only been there a month and they are already full-on negative.

I can't seem to gain a foothold. I have tried making units that are interesting but challenging. I try to come up with new and innovative things for them. Today I thought I had a great idea with them playing the Stock Market Game. Nope, they hated the idea.

I just don't know what to do. I feel frustrated all the time with the whining and negativity and the fact that they never like anything we do. The most successful thing we've done was a hands-on project called Mission Eggcellence where they design a car. I like it too but it's hard to make every single unit hands-on. And there's learning that has to be done before they can experiment, build, etc.

Any advice? Thanks

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el ed Some of the problem is the age of the students. Middle schoolers can be a challenge.

I have been there with the 6/7/8 IG Enrichment class. You have my sympathy.

This was the first year the 6th graders did not have me all to themselves. Also, there was a pecking order in which the 8th wanted to "lord it over" the seventh graders an...See MoreSome of the problem is the age of the students. Middle schoolers can be a challenge.

I have been there with the 6/7/8 IG Enrichment class. You have my sympathy.

This was the first year the 6th graders did not have me all to themselves. Also, there was a pecking order in which the 8th wanted to "lord it over" the seventh graders and the 6th graders, especially. Most of the 7th and 8th graders were boys. There were only 3 sixth graders and two were girls.

One 6th grade girl, whose brother she hated and vice versa, was also in the class. She was acting out so badly that I was considering convening the Local Survey Committee and suggesting she no longer be served in the gifted program. She had become a real little terror and extremely disruptive..

Before doing this, I talked with her privately. It came out that she did not like having to be in the class with other grades. She wanted it just to be the 6th graders in the class. It had just been the small class and me since the second grade.

I told her the truth. I would have preferred still having each grade being separate myself, but this was how it had to be because of scheduling. We talked a long time and came to the understanding that we would try to make the best of the situation. Also, I told her I would "speak" with the 7th and 8th graders, and I did in no uncertain terms.

The class friction decreased considerably.

On 9/13/10, Victoria wrote: > I could use some words of advice, encouragement, etc. I am > in my 3rd year of teaching gifted pull-out and I'm almost > ready to go back to the regular classroom. > > I teach 2nd-8th graders, a total of 46 students. I have 23 > at the elementary and I'm doing fine with them. They are > divided into three groups--10 2nd/3rd graders, 6 4th > graders, and 7 5th graders. I can give them challenging > assignments and they jump at them. Right now my older > students are writing speeches. You would think they would > be whining (b/c they hate to write) but they aren't. They > are doing an amazing job. > > My biggest problem is the middle school and I'm not sure > how to turn it around anymore. There are two periods with > 12 in first and 11 in 2nd. They are mixed 6th, 7th, and 8th > graders which is awful. Until middle school, they are > mostly in their own grade level and but then at 6th grade, > they are not only split apart but they are mixed in with > older students. > > My oldest group has only had me at the middle school level > and they are very negative and complain about everything we > do. I have tried time and again to get them on a more > positive note. I have encouraged them to submit ideas to > make it more interesting. It doesn't matter what we do, > they complain. They would be happiest sitting around, > talking all the time, not doing anything. Or playing games > every day. I actually had one suggest (joking I hope) that > if we can't play games everyday, then let them play them 4 > days and do the reading stuff on Fridays. > > One of the things they don't like is that when I came on > board, they changed the rules for our class and began > insisting we cover reading in addition to our gifted > objectives, since they are taking gifted in place of > reading at the 7th and 8th grade level but are still being > tested on it. > > So now I have to teach reading concepts which they balk at. > But they don't want to leave gifted because then they'd > have to take it all the time. It's like "I'll take gifted > so I don't have to take reading, but that's the only reason > I'm taking it." I've tried talking to them in a > professional way, encouraging them, etc., NOTHING WORKS. > > What's worse, the bad attitude trickles to the next grade > level and then the next. My 6th graders have only been > there a month and they are already full-on negative. > > I can't seem to gain a foothold. I have tried making units > that are interesting but challenging. I try to come up with > new and innovative things for them. Today I thought I had > a great idea with them playing the Stock Market Game. Nope, > they hated the idea. > > I just don't know what to do. I feel frustrated all the > time with the whining and negativity and the fact that they > never like anything we do. The most successful thing we've > done was a hands-on project called Mission Eggcellence > where they design a car. I like it too but it's hard to > make every single unit hands-on. And there's learning that > has to be done before they can experiment, build, etc. > > Any advice? Thanks

Sep 17, 2010

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you don't have to teach reading...just make sure they get it You most likely do not need to teach the reading. Give a pre-test. Make sure they have the needed skills. If they do, you're done.

To a gifted kid, 99% of reading instruction is really baffling. Not that they don't get it. They don't get why anyone needs to be TAUGHT it.

The words mean the same thing in writing as they do when you...See More

Sep 17, 2010

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el ed The last post concerning pretesting made sense to me. Before teaching gifted students, I taught in the regular classroom. I had been very thorough in explaining with my classes.

When I first began teaching my gifted students, one of the first things they said to me was, "We've got it already , Mrs. el ed. You don't have to explain it to us...See More

Sep 17, 2010

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Victoria I want to say thank you to all of you for giving me hope and inspiration. I wrote the post after a very frustrating day for me and I know that frustration showed through. Normally I won't post until I am calm and more objective, but this day was just so harsh. I was literally in tears with their behavior and my overwhelming frustration with this be...See MoreI want to say thank you to all of you for giving me hope and inspiration. I wrote the post after a very frustrating day for me and I know that frustration showed through. Normally I won't post until I am calm and more objective, but this day was just so harsh. I was literally in tears with their behavior and my overwhelming frustration with this being the third year and things are not improving.

I will say this to the person who questioned my training--yes, I have been trained. I have my Master's in gifted. But as any teacher will tell you, training and actuality are very different. I have tried many approaches with these students in the past two years and I feel like instead of making progress, the negativity continues to trickle down to the next group.

One factor I did not mention is that there are pressures from the administration to teach the reading objectives and make sure they are all covered. So I'm constantly finding myself trying to fit everything in--the reading and the gifted curriculum. I thought the Jacob's Ladder would be a good idea b/c it is designed for gifted students, but doing that AND the literature unit has been tough. It's not just been those activities though. They have done hands-on activities with spatial awareness and I've given them Fridays to choose their own activities. I was originally going to ask them to do another literature unit next January but I am nixing that idea b/c it is way too time consuming. I don't think there's a gifted teacher out there that would argue that we all try ideas only to have them flop.

I am constantly looking for new ideas and after my disappointing Monday, I took a deep breath and began fresh the next day. The students may not think the Stock Market Game will be fun but I asked them to try it once. If they don't like it, we won't do it again, but I asked them to give it a fair shot. I spoke with several students about how the more I have to "fuss" at them--i.e. address issues--the less time we have for the fun stuff. I told them if we can complete the work for the hour, we can play a group game to close out the day. That's the one thing that I think they really miss doing from their elementary days. The only reason I stopped was that I was told that all it looked like they were doing was playing--regardless of whether there was an objective or learning principle to the game. However, I'm going to put my foot down and make that a part of our day again. I think it ends our time on a good note and makes it more enjoyable for all of us.

El ed, thank you SO much for responding. I feel like you truly have been in this type of situation and understand the challenges of having students who are in their own, self-contained small group to suddenly being thrown in with the older students. I've tried group bonding exercises but honestly, this 8th grade group just is a hard group to get through to. I am not going to quit trying though.

I do like the pre-testing idea and I had originally started with something similar to that. I need to go back and make pretests for each objective and just see where they are and where the lessons are needed the most. I know there are some terms they do not learn until 7th or 8th grade (irony, certain persuasive techniques, etc) so those will have to be taught. But if they learned them last year, they shouldn't have to be taught them again.

Thanks again for all the supportive ideas and encouragement. Although it is overwhelming at times, I know I can keep trying ideas and find a balance. :)

Victoria

Sep 18, 2010

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