New year, new challenges
Somehow, summer is over & another school year has begun. I think I had forgotten how draining this job can be. Nevertheless, I trudge on ... hoping that my body will adjust to this schedule & I'll find "the groove" again.
My classes are huge this year. In addition, the kids just seem ... indifferent. I know all the right things: change instruction every 15 minutes, avoid lecturing, do hands-on activities, allow appropriate wait time, call on students if no one answers, use a variety of teaching methods, make it relevant. Yet, despite all my efforts, the kids are just un-engaged. The same 3-4 kids raise their hands in every class. The rest just sit there, probably dreaming of myspace or MTV.
Maybe they're smarter than last year's kids & I just haven't challenged them enough. Or perhaps they're still getting used to the idea of waking up before noon, but come on, it's been 3 weeks. I'm probably over-exaggerating, but it's like pulling teeth trying to elicit answers & ideas from them. It's becoming painful to start class. I'm tired of listening to myself talk ... simply because they won't! They did respond well when I made up a song about Polar Molecules & made a complete idiot of myself, singing it to them. I can't imagine coming up with a song for each unit... maybe I'll make them do that.
I'm probably just comparing them to last year's students & expecting them to behave similarly - last year's students were absolute dreams. I know they're different kids this year, with different experiences and different abilities, so I need to probe a little deeper & get to know them better. And, granted, the first unit is the not-so-exciting topic of Water, so I can't blame them for being bored.
I do love our mix of kids this year, despite their reticence. In addition to the typical Latino crowd, we have Asians, a Liberian, and Arabs - I really love that diversity. And, the cross country team is huge this year - maybe we'll be an intimidating presence at meets, just from sheer numbers. I think I'm helping with the ESL after-school program once x-c is over, which will be fun. There are days when I wish I was back in Costa Rica with my host family from this summer ... I'm hoping I won't lose all the Spanish I learned there.
Somehow, the weekend is over. The nightly ritual of making lunch, finding appropriate clothes, printing handouts, packing running clothes, & trying to sleep begins. I am determined to get these kids talking ... in a few weeks I'll probably be wishing they were quiet, & longing for this strange silence!
My classes are huge this year. In addition, the kids just seem ... indifferent. I know all the right things: change instruction every 15 minutes, avoid lecturing, do hands-on activities, allow appropriate wait time, call on students if no one answers, use a variety of teaching methods, make it relevant. Yet, despite all my efforts, the kids are just un-engaged. The same 3-4 kids raise their hands in every class. The rest just sit there, probably dreaming of myspace or MTV.
Maybe they're smarter than last year's kids & I just haven't challenged them enough. Or perhaps they're still getting used to the idea of waking up before noon, but come on, it's been 3 weeks. I'm probably over-exaggerating, but it's like pulling teeth trying to elicit answers & ideas from them. It's becoming painful to start class. I'm tired of listening to myself talk ... simply because they won't! They did respond well when I made up a song about Polar Molecules & made a complete idiot of myself, singing it to them. I can't imagine coming up with a song for each unit... maybe I'll make them do that.
I'm probably just comparing them to last year's students & expecting them to behave similarly - last year's students were absolute dreams. I know they're different kids this year, with different experiences and different abilities, so I need to probe a little deeper & get to know them better. And, granted, the first unit is the not-so-exciting topic of Water, so I can't blame them for being bored.
I do love our mix of kids this year, despite their reticence. In addition to the typical Latino crowd, we have Asians, a Liberian, and Arabs - I really love that diversity. And, the cross country team is huge this year - maybe we'll be an intimidating presence at meets, just from sheer numbers. I think I'm helping with the ESL after-school program once x-c is over, which will be fun. There are days when I wish I was back in Costa Rica with my host family from this summer ... I'm hoping I won't lose all the Spanish I learned there.
Somehow, the weekend is over. The nightly ritual of making lunch, finding appropriate clothes, printing handouts, packing running clothes, & trying to sleep begins. I am determined to get these kids talking ... in a few weeks I'll probably be wishing they were quiet, & longing for this strange silence!
posted by Kat at
6:49 PM
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1 comments
