I made it through week one. Five out of six of my classes are fantastic. I just have one chemistry class that will be a challenge. I've had to call that class to attention and remind them we have bellwork that they are supposed to start after the bell rings three days in a row. I had to tell them to sit down on day one. Apparently, they've never been to school before and didn't know that you're supposed to sit down when the bell rings.
When I showed the safety video, instead of being creeped out by the injuries shown, like the other classes, they laughed through the entire video
. There are a couple of parts where every class laughs like when they use a mannequin to demonstrate stop drop and roll but I've never had a class laugh through the entire video. Especially the eye injury part. I'm trying to figure out what is funny about getting chemicals in your eyes.
. I'm a little worried about this class and lab safety.
It's interesting how classes have personalities. My first class of the day is worried about not getting A's, they're on task, ask questions and do what is expected of them. My second class is worried about passing and need to be reassured that they'll be able to fix their grades to keep them on task and prevent them from giving up. My 3rd hour is really interested in the material. I've already had a request to alter a demo to see what happens, which I'll do next week. My 5th hour is a really polite group but they don't like to sit still. They made it a point to tell me that they really liked the activities we did on Thursday and Friday so I could plan more of them. My 5th class is the one that laughed through the safety video and discussion. They even laughed when I explained that broken glass has to go into the broken glass container and not the trash and vice versa because someone might get cut picking paper out of the glass box or taking the trash out if there is broken glass in the trash can. They act entitled. My last hour of the day is my favorite class both because it's the last hour of the day and because they are just a great group of kids to end my day with. It's a really small class so I'll get to do more demos and possibly lab activities with them. I find I can get through the material faster in small classes and I frequently end up with an extra 10 minutes in small classes. Then we just do something cool that relates to the material I'm teaching.
It's looking like a good year, as far as my classes are concerned. I just need to work on behaviors in that one class. On Monday, they get a new seating chart. I let my chemistry kids pick their own seats unless they show me they can't stay on task sitting next to friends. I have three groups to split up. Fortunately, I have 32 desks because I also teach physical science in the same room so I can spread them out. Then we work on being in their seats when the bell rings (tardy if they're not sitting in THIER seat) and getting them to do bellwork. One thing at a time... I went to a seminar on motivating the unmotivated last year and they gave some good advice to attack one behavior problem at a time. This class has a lot of them but it's not a Whack-A-Mole class with deliberately disruptive kids (Whack one and another pops up to take his place.). These kids are just entitled and inconsiderate and need some training. If I can knock some of the behavior issues out this week, it'll be a good year.
So how is your year going so far?
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How's your year starting off?
