If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning...on my students' heads!

ECK! What a day! Alright, so today I was observed during 6th hour, a class I've only taught for a week. I should have known then...wow, were they pains today! The ONE day I need them to behave and follow directions, they are at their worst! Honestly, I could NOT get them to SHUT UP today. It was really difficult to keep class going with their interruptions, totally pointless comments or questions, and getting up out of their seats. I just wanted to smack them up! But of course, I'm a good-natured teacher, and could and would never do that. I really SHOULD have put the smack down more though.

That's what my supervisor called me on, saying that I need to take on more authority and let the students know that I will not put up with that sort of behavior. She had some really good points, so actually talking with her wasn't bad at all, and it's good to know where I need to improve. But the actual teaching part...man, it was like a mild nightmare. Try as I might, I couldn't seem to get it in their heads that I wanted them to pay attention, get through the school work, and stop goofing off. So tomorrow...HA! tomorrow...those poor sods. I'm totally going to lay it into them. They won't know what hit 'em ;) I'm not going to yell or anything, but I'm going to use a stern solid voice, and let them know how much they disappointed me. I won't tell them that they had any emotional or personal impact on me (like saying that their behavior caused me grief with my observation), but I certainly will let them know that it was totally rude and disappointing behavior in front of a visitor. And I will tell them it will NOT be tolerated AND I am going to change the seating chart. And I most definitely am going to tell them that though I may not be around for long, while I am here, I AM the teacher, and they will respect that or face the consequences. I am fully capable of giving detentions or worse ;)

MWA HA HA HA HA! They haven't seen ANYTHING yet ;) They think I'm a mild mannered student teacher? Think again, puny 8th graders! hehehhe, okay, I'm not going on a power trip or anything. But I know I need to take on more authority and let them know my tolerance level and the consequences for breaching it. I don't like having to put the smack down, but at this age, as eight graders, they need it sometimes. Some students understand when to stop, when to control and monitor their own behavior. And some...well, they haven't got a clue when enough is enough. And it's my job, whether I like it or not, to tell them when to stop. If I don't step up, they'll step all over me. My other classes that I've taught longer...they seem to understand that better. Maybe it's the students, or maybe it's that we have a stronger raport, and know that I can and WILL do something about their behavior. Also, they seem to care more about what I think, since we have established a relationship, teacher to student, and more--we seem to just get along with our humors sometimes. But since I haven't taught 6th hour for long, and they are different students, I can't use the same techniques for classroom management and expect them to work. It's a tough lesson, and today was LONG, but with some advice, a couple friends and happy hour...I'm doin alright ;)