Keep Calm... and Follow Through

Teaching is wonderful. Honestly. In my biased opinion, it is the most rewarding profession.  We not only teach them facts, but we shape them. We teach them manners, how to be kind, how to independently calm yourself down, how to deal with an injury, how to share, how to speak to one another, etc.  I am sure you get the idea.  And it’s rewarding, and I wouldn’t change my career choice EVER.  I love these kids more than anything and I love seeing them grow.

But then we have those days where you think, “Why did I become a teacher?” And ladies and gentlemen, this was one of those days.  Now, I am only a student teacher.  And sometimes this is hard because they know I am not really their teacher.  Also, school gets out in one week and they are antsy. So this week we decided to do a non-competitive tournament with the other teachers.  We played each class in softball.  It was just a fun activity to get the kids outside and not stuck in the classroom. The kids have loved it and been fantastic all week.  But today a few things happened:

·         As teachers, we didn’t coordinate our rules so we were both making different calls

·         The kids were just arguing, pushing, and getting mad at each other

·         Kids were doing gymnastics on the field and one girl kicked another girl in the neck while doing a cartwheel

·         Calling names at the other team

·         Here is the biggest one: The students started arguing with ME

             Now, the last one is what boils my blood. They argued with me.  ME?! They know I am the law.  What Mrs. Thompson says is what will happen. Now, some of the calls I made may not have been accurate.  But there were 60 kids on that field. I can’t see everything all the time.

 And then I made the biggest mistake. I threatened but did not act on my threats.  I can hear myself now saying, “If you say one more negative comment, then we are going inside!” “Don’t do that again, or we are going inside?” “We’ll go inside if you don’t talk nicely to other people.” Can you see where I became a broken record? Because I had “threatened” so many times, they didn’t believe I would actually do it and it just kept getting worse with every play.  Finally, I stopped the game.  The kids went inside and I had to report to my cooperating teacher (their actual teacher) what had happened on the field. I was completely embarrassed in front of the other teachers on the field. But worst of all, I didn’t have the students’ respect.

To make a long post shorter, my cooperating teacher had a stern talk with the kids.  She talked to them about what happened, what we could do next time, and how should make things right.  Then, my cooperating teacher asked me to say a few words….

“Boys and girls, I feel like Mrs. Thompson should say a few words to you.  She was the one outside with you, not me.  And she has a right to say how she is feeling. Right now, it might be hard for her because she has been hurt by the comments you have said. But when she is ready she will talk.”

BAM. Lost it. Tears just formed in my eyes. I walked over to the library and acted like I was reading something. I don’t know if they saw me or not but by the end of the day, I had 30 apology letters.

Teachers do more than teach Math, Science, History and English.  We shape children. There is so much that goes on the classroom every. single. day. Each moment is crucial because a habit is forming, a decision is made, and the students are growing.
 I guess the moral to this post for any individual who deals with children:

 Give the expectations and follow through with the consequences you have said. 

Do not be a broken record like I was on the field.  And THINK before you say the consequence. Honestly, I shouldn’t have jumped to the worse consequence like, “We will go inside and not play tennis ball anymore!”  I should have said, “Next person who says a rude comment will stand by me for the next 10 mintues of the game."  Then, it is not affecting the whole class, just the offender. See where I am going with this?  By the end of the day, everything was flowing smoothly. But boy, oh boy, thank goodness I am learning these lessons now.  Anyone have any managment techniques they use with their classrooms or children?