Fridays on Defend

[jubaji]

You don't have to try so hard, Cheech. Everyone already sees you for what you are.

[DickHardman]

You don't have to try so hard, Cheech. Everyone already sees you for what you are.

oh really? everyone already knows im a manly, rugged, in shape, muscular young man with a large penis, great martial arts skills and awesome personality??? cool, cool.

[jubaji]

oh really? everyone already knows im a manly, rugged, in shape, muscular young man with a large penis, great martial arts skills and awesome personality??? cool, cool.

NO, they see you for what you ARE, not what your pot-induced fantasies make you think you are.

[Ahsen]

NO, they see you for what you ARE, not what your pot-induced fantasies make you think you are.

that is ........

just asking

[DickHardman]

NO, they see you for what you ARE

yeah i know, thats what i said. they see me as a rugged, manly, well endowed martial artist.

[jubaji]

Again we see how the pot has torn you from reality...

[Hardball]

Dinner was great, Rockfish stuffed with Crab imperial. Getting ready to watch a movie then hit the sack and get ready for a rugged class at the Dojo at 10:00 a.m.

[Tom Yum]

That doesn't work... Anyway, my 31 and 33-person class sizes are getting to me. I don't understand why I have 90 students and another person who started with me with the exact same cert, grade, subject matter and position only has 40.

Tree, are you a very energetic teacher?

I don't know if you are, but when I was in high school, the teachers who were animated and really into their subjects seemed to get us motivated or at least those of us who were decent students. Kids are used to short video clips and have an ever decreasing attention span.

Do the students respond to you? Or do they ignore you?

If they ignore you, they probably think you're not cut from the same cloth as they are. They see you as an adult - an outsider. If your class is really diverse, it could be challenging huh.

Do you know what your students are interested in? What motivates them?

Sure you have to stick to cirriculum, but can you fuse your lessons into their interests.

Not sure if this is helpful - but I wanna wish you success

[treelizard]

The only thing that works with these kids is when I start kicking people out or make them call their parents in front of the class. They told me that it's not their fault because they were brought up that way; they can get shot at for wearing the wrong color so why should they act their age?

I did bring in improv comedy guys to help teach elements of story. I get along with them individually but the 33-person classes are a bit unruly.

They hate writing, but I do try to make lessons as interesting as possible.

[Tom Yum]

What subject do you teach?

[treelizard]

What subject do you teach?

8th grade Language Arts to mostly ELL students on the South side.

[Tom Yum]

8th grade Language Arts to mostly ELL students on the South side.

You're probably a better teacher than you give yourself credit for...but you'll find out more once you get an in class observation from the principal (do they still do that?).

[treelizard]

You're probably a better teacher than you give yourself credit for...but you'll find out more once you get an in class observation from the principal (do they still do that?).

Thanks! I am getting there. It is more difficult in a school that doesn't have very basic things (let alone a curriculum)...

Yeah, they do informal and formal observations...but the students get really quiet whenever they walk in so it's not as helpful as it could be. I also have another person who will be observing and isn't affiliated with the school. That will be nice. I'm also taking all kinds of workshops and reading too much.

The problem has been inconsistent implementation of consequences... I had it under control last Monday so all I need to do is the same thing again...

I'd like to think that humans have evolved beyond the "do what I say or you'll get in trouble" model but I guess that's not the case.

[Ahsen]

TreeLizard Smiling helps

[DickHardman]

I'd like to think that humans have evolved beyond the "do what I say or you'll get in trouble" model but I guess that's not the case.

thats how it has to be. you have to make it known that there will always be negative consequences for behaving negatively. if not, they will run all over you. i know this because i used to be one of those students who would run all over teachers if they let me do so. i would push it as far as i possibly could. it was only the teachers who made sure i suffered a negative consequence every time that were able to deter me from going crazy in the classroom or get me to turn in work. if you are too nice, and too friendly with them they will run all over you. sadly, 8th graders arent really mature enough to be handled any other way. every time one of them does something wrong, or doesnt turn in work, make them have to call their parents, or take away their recess. do whatever it takes, cause i know for sure when i was in 8th grade the only thing i was concerned about in class was which person i was going to shoot my spitball at next. i used to bring tons of plastic straws to school and use them to fire fat, wet spitballs all over the classroom that would stick to people. this was especially true anytime a movie was being shown in class, cause as soon as the lights went off i could fire off as many spitballs as i wanted without being seen.