Post by burlives on May 16, 2005 19:08:36 GMT 7
I pulled a stunt today.
I have these "Reading" classes. The students have learned that I make no roll call. They have learned that I focus on process rather than result. They have learned, in other words, that they have no reason to listen to me. Except that I trip them on their bored asses from time to time because I really have no respect for their assumption of youth's prerogative to fail upwards. For example, today the reading exercises were printed not on individual sheets but in large letters on several sheets taped to the walls of the unnecessarily large classroom. Students were required to group together and make their way from one sheet to another answering questions.
Some classes get it. I did this with a total of five classes of (theoretically) 60 kids each. Some of them still listen when I speak and are able to process the instructions. The lessons proceed apace. But Monday's classes have a total of about five kids who listen.
This getting up and walking to the question sheets makes the kids who sit at their desks doing other homework look up all bewildered. But if they are in the majority, it leaves me without a lesson plan, unless I invest in shouting, which I don't do: if they don't want to join in, it's their right -- they're all older than 21.
So today I went through with my lesson plan, with most of the kids sitting at their desks doing nothing. During the second period, as has been established in the other four classes who have done this lesson, there is less control by the teacher, me, over which sheet which student goes to. Well, during this second period, no one went anywhere. So I let them sit there. The plan called for 20 minutes of student controlled activity. They sat for 20 minutes. So did I. It became a game of classroom chicken.
In the end I sat still for 45 minutes, and so did they.
The m'kayers were sufficiently disciplined that no one tried to escape until 10 minutes before the end of class.
The real kick in the nuts is I understand that they want something in their classroom -- they do want a "lesson". It's just that in a classroom they're such a herd of cattle they run on rails they won't see.
Kinda can't respect that. So I've come full circle. I used to pull this kind of crap way back when I first got here. Didn't get fired then, might get fired now.
I have these "Reading" classes. The students have learned that I make no roll call. They have learned that I focus on process rather than result. They have learned, in other words, that they have no reason to listen to me. Except that I trip them on their bored asses from time to time because I really have no respect for their assumption of youth's prerogative to fail upwards. For example, today the reading exercises were printed not on individual sheets but in large letters on several sheets taped to the walls of the unnecessarily large classroom. Students were required to group together and make their way from one sheet to another answering questions.
Some classes get it. I did this with a total of five classes of (theoretically) 60 kids each. Some of them still listen when I speak and are able to process the instructions. The lessons proceed apace. But Monday's classes have a total of about five kids who listen.
This getting up and walking to the question sheets makes the kids who sit at their desks doing other homework look up all bewildered. But if they are in the majority, it leaves me without a lesson plan, unless I invest in shouting, which I don't do: if they don't want to join in, it's their right -- they're all older than 21.
So today I went through with my lesson plan, with most of the kids sitting at their desks doing nothing. During the second period, as has been established in the other four classes who have done this lesson, there is less control by the teacher, me, over which sheet which student goes to. Well, during this second period, no one went anywhere. So I let them sit there. The plan called for 20 minutes of student controlled activity. They sat for 20 minutes. So did I. It became a game of classroom chicken.
In the end I sat still for 45 minutes, and so did they.
The m'kayers were sufficiently disciplined that no one tried to escape until 10 minutes before the end of class.
The real kick in the nuts is I understand that they want something in their classroom -- they do want a "lesson". It's just that in a classroom they're such a herd of cattle they run on rails they won't see.
Kinda can't respect that. So I've come full circle. I used to pull this kind of crap way back when I first got here. Didn't get fired then, might get fired now.
