Blog 41: Comparison of two consecutive first years of school, examination of the reason for the improvement
The first week of school this year has been worlds better than that of last year. Last year I started on the wrong foot. I was ill prepared for what I was about to encounter. Growing up in the university bound advanced track of a nice suburb in Canada, my expectations were a little off. I assumed that the common courtesy that we gave our teachers would follow down here too. I was wrong. Last year I closed my door for the first period and was shocked that the students were not all doing what was written on the board. After a short talk they began working, but they all talked and would not stay focus. I was clueless on how to address the situation, unsure what power I had, timid to use the power I had and not sure what to do. The students realized this and, to put it kindly, they walked all over me. The first day of school I had the teacher next door give my students a harangue about how they should respect me. The second day I had the senior biology teacher come in to my room to ream out several of these students. This helped in the situation but it also lost credibility among the students. This they wielded into a semester of chaos. All this happened because I dropped the ball and did not hit the ground running.
This year was a different story. I was well equipped. I came into class ready to go. My confidence level was high and I believe that the students could perceive this. I have not had any difficulties yet with any of the classes. It is almost one month into the school year and still classes have all been going smoothly. I still teach in an inner-city school so I have had some students who did not want to conform, but holistically, not many, and virtually none compared to last year. Also, this year I am far better at dealing with these issues as they arise and they no longer faze me.
I have spent some time analyzing the reason for this change in my student's behavior from this year compared to last year. This year I had a better understanding of what I could expect of my students and what is beyond my student's abilities. I established my expectations early and have been consistent in enforcing these expectations. Finally, I have learned how to run a quiet class identified the steps required in lesson planning and understand what can be expected. These small changes have helped me to enhance my class efficiency.
This next semester I intend to be more on the ball. Last year I played a lotof catch up. Trying to finish grading, maintaining discipline, writing lesson plans. I never felt I had a grasp of anything and I was always behind the eight ball. This year I have been far more aggressive in getting all the loose ends tied up. It helps that I have a better understanding of what is important and what can wait. One goal that I have already implemented is to have the students do some labs and do a little more hands on work. Last year I did not have my students do any experiments. This bothered me but I was doing the best I could to keep things going. Now I will take it to the next level.
