Was it that bad?

My mentor stopped in my classroom today . . . she does that periodically but hasn't been in a while. For some reason, my kids were extremely chatty today. I had to stop several times to get their attention & refocus, but we still covered all the material & had excellent discussions. In fact, much of their talking was centered around their work (they were analyzing a lab safety picture & I could hear them discussing it). So, the class wasn't perfect, but I definitely wouldn't call it unproductive or out of hand. It's almost refreshing to have them so interested in the topic that they want to talk about it.

Later, my mentor stopped by to placate the bureacracy (i.e., fill out meaningless paperwork that sits in a file somewhere in the elusive "downtown" area). She handed me a huge book on positive behavior management and suggested that I review it over the next week. I asked her, "Oh, is this an area where you feel I need improvement?" And she basically evaded the question by saying we all need reminders in this area, and that if kids know the procedures, they are more likely to follow directions. So, in a roundabout way, she was implying that my kids need more structure & should have the expectations stated more clearly (at least that's how I took it).

Of course, that's true. I can probably benefit by reviewing this book, but it just seemed a little pointed & blatant after she spent a mere 10 minutes observing an unusually talkative class. I don't remember yelling at them or singling out students (although I certainly could have) - things I'm definitely guilty of on weaker days. I'm very open to constructive criticism, but I felt belittled & criticized, and not helped at all.

All of the core teachers on team today said the kids were particularly talkative ~ apparently we all had difficulty today keeping them on track. So while I probably can benefit from this book and definitely do need reminders in this area, I don't think it's valid to judge my classroom management skills on this one day alone.

Grrrrrrr. I feel like I just unknowingly took a benchmark test, and my scores are being unfairly evaluated by that one little snapshot of my performance. Honestly, I don't really care if she thinks I'm an effective classroom manager (because I know I'm at least halfway decent, and my kids do learn). I just felt it was an unfair assessment. Maybe if she spent a little more time in that class she would realize that it was an abnormal day, and that kids are kids for crying out loud. They can't always be "managed," nor do they necessarily always need to be. I distinctly remember a great quote from one of my grad school texts (and I wish I could remember the source, but I'm too tired): "We should not think of kids as problems to be managed, but rather as resources to be developed."

Ha! Maybe I should dig up that source and suggest to my mentor that she do a little reading of her own this week. (Is that mean? Forgive me! I think I just need sleep!)

I think I'm also feeling very forgiving & defensive of my darling little talkative angels today. They were so sweet to me - my birthday was over the weekend, and two different students brought in cakes! (Granted, they knew I would share it with them, and kill 10 minutes or so of class, but hey - I was impressed.) One proudly boasted, "I baked it for you from scratch - all by myself!" and the other one special-ordered a bakery cake decorated in Hello Kitty (they know me so well). It was adorable. They may be monsters sometimes, but I do love those kids! They made getting older (almost) fun.

In her shoes

Somehow, I got suckered into agreeing to be "assistant principal for the day." My AP was out for 3 days, so she chose 3 of us to fill in for her. I spent some time wondering if I was chosen b/c I am vocally cynical about her job, but I'm honestly not (at least not this year). I think she's great. Anyhoo ... my day was Thursday.

I have to admit, I've always wanted a job that required a walkie talkie. It was highly enteretaining - I basically had a play-by-play of all the action on campus that day. The down side is that I was always reachable & was pulled in a jillion directions all day long. I spent most of the day chasing down kids & making sure they actually made it to class. And, instead of constantly asking kids things like "Please be quiet," "I need your attention," "Come on, let's focus - we can do this," I was yelling out "Let's move it! Get to class!"

It was curious, too, the way my own students reacted to me. At first I thought they assumed it was all a joke. I later figured out that they thought it was kind of cool . . . somehow, the walkie talkie was a symbol of power. They really did respond to me differently.

For example, I had to call a kid down to the office who happened to be my student. My job: to remind him of the deputy's warning, and tell him that if he continued to threaten a particular student, Deputy M would find him & prosecute. Normally, if I ask this kid to change his behavior in my class, I get a mouthful of lip and blatant disrespect. However, once he sat in "the principal's office" behind the shiny desk (my walkie prominently displayed on top), he was strangely speechless. He nodded his head whenever I spoke, and agreed not to harrass the student anymore. Amazing.

I think the worst part of the day was hearing "We need an administrator in Room B1." I couldn't figure out why this sounded familiar, and then it dawned on me - B1 is my classroom. The sub was at his wit's end with my 4th hour class, apparently. I threw the door open & gave them my best "I'm disappointed in you / this is entirely inappropriate / your behavior will have consequences" speech. I even stayed for the beginning of 5th hour and threatened them with their lives if they chose to misbehave.

I was absolutely astonished this morning when I read the sub's note for 5th hour: "Thank you for the talk. This class was great and should get a reward." I have never had a sub leave a note like that for a class. I almost cried I was so proud of them. I love the maternal moments that teaching can sometimes bring. And yes, I brought those babies breakfast this morning for being so wonderful (which probably really means they did 10% of their work & didn't throw things at the sub).

It was a decent day. I've never doubted that administrators work hard, especially at my school. It did give me a new appreciation for their job, though. While I get weary from the daily face-to-face interactions with 100+ students, admins are on the move all day long and can't really plan their day. I think that would drive me crazy - having to be completely flexible every moment of the day, always ready to drop what I'm doing & speed away to the latest emergency.

At any rate, I'm considering getting a walkie talkie ... even if I just pretend to radio someone once in a while, it's such a powerful tool. Who knew?!