Every educator has had “that class” which gives them an extra bit of anxiety on Sunday evenings. That class which doesn’t respond well to the traditional management interventions of predictable routines, parent contact, participation points, and eventually detentions and discipline referrals.
Now into February, I’ve run into one of those classes.
Even as high school seniors, they take an age to get their journals from the back and take a seat. They talk over and under me as well as each other. They put their heads down. They complain that English is boring. Many of them have failed English classes in the past; I’m worried that about 1/4 of them might not pass this class for the year, and therefore might not graduate.
I butted heads with this class back in October and we were able (I thought at that time!) to talk to each other productively and things seemed to get calmer for a while. When I asked for silence so they could read or write individually, they generally complied. When I insisted that they raise hands and not talk over each other, they seemed to try their best.
But I feel that slipping away now.
The kids themselves have advice that they’re happy to give out, but of course I have to filter this through which kid is telling me, and in what context. The kid who’s quieter in class and tells me in writing that he feels like he doesn’t know his classmates might be better received than the kid who’s on his phone during the warm-up and who then tells me in front of everyone that I’m giving out too much work.
Those are just examples, and people being people, there are general rules of thumb that I can apply from others’ advice, but ultimately I’m the one standing in front of my students.
So here are some ideas that I’ve come up with thus far:
-grade this section’s journals weekly, rather than monthly
-add my own progress reports in between the official dates
-add mini self-refections at the end of some days
-subtract participation points for the week upon repeat disruptions
-start using a “thumb-ball” with ice-breaker questions in the last minutes of class
-incorporate some “team-building” elements from my outdoor education days (Fridays!)
-be discriminating in the stories that I choose to read as a class
-incorporate more story drama into literature instruction
-check in with the head of my department on a weekly basis concerning this class
As you can see, there are some draconian measures in there as well as some that are designed to help open the general lines of communication. Let me be clear that I believe discipline measures are only effective when paired with reflection and discussion.
I do have to remind myself that these are seniors in high school, and that I would like nothing better than management-by-frank-discussion, however sometimes it’s easier to achieve that stance with some structured activities as a jump-start.
That list could certainly use some expanding, and for anyone who might have a brilliant and hidden secret, I’m all ears.
