Last week of school

It is the last week of school. We have four more days left with the students. Then two more days of clean-up and check-out. The students are definitely ready for the summer; as am I. This has been a long year, however, I still remember the first day. Since we have a block schedule, it was like two first days. I introduced myself, told them a little bit about my background, and started to get to know the students. It was fun to think of ways to get to know the students.

Going into it, I was very excited. In the beginning, I tended to have a positive, friendly attitude towards the students. That is just how I am. At some point, I decided in needed to be less of a friend and more of a teacher. The students here do not put in a lot of effort as not a lot of effort is expected of them. I guess I can say that they are accustommed to doing the minimum to get by. What I mean by being more of a teacher is expecting more from my students.

Towards the beginning, I would give my students time in class to work and let them decide if they are going to work or not. Watching other 9th grade teachers, I noticed they do not let them decide. In their classes, their students are working all the time. I think, at the point, I decided to try that out.

I started being more strict; lowering the amount of free-time, bathroom breaks and wasting time. The students noticed that change in management; which is good. In fact, one student asked me last week "What happened? You used to be so chill." I don't want to be chill. I want my students to learn that they will have to learn how to use their time responsibly and that it will take a lot of effort to graduate with good grades.

Next year, I plan on being less "chill" and more strict with how my students use their time from the very beginning.