Dear Leo,
Oh how well I know what you are talking about! I started my career "sink
or swim" as we would say, as a full-time high school teacher with five
classes -- 150 -- high school freshmen, 13-14 years old. I taught high
school full time for over six years before moving to the college level.
In my first year of high school teaching, I thought I would never make it.
I'd go home, mix a drink and then my husband, also a teacher, would tell
me: "Look. If you start drinking now because of the classroom, you'll
never stop. And besides, it's not the cure to the problem." So I stopped
mixing drinks. It took me a while, but I figured out how to manage their
energy and still provide a learning experience. It wasn't until I became
a parent, though, that I really understood what my high school students
needed (and truth be told, some of my college students, too.) Yes, kids
do want to learn, but they need structure to create an environment where
26 kids at a time can learn. And they need to feel secure, safe to take
risks. And they need to feel supported. And for kids, this means that
they know someone is in charge. That doesn't mean they're not going to
test that person and test some more, but they need to sense, from the
minute you walk into the room, that you KNOW what you're doing (even if
you don't) and that there are RULES and there are CONSEQUENCES. Even if
it means being stern and unsmiling for about the first month or two. When
you finally do smile, it's a landmark moment for them. I'll admit that at
first, I balked at the advice the more experienced teachers gave me. I
truly believed that kids would be eager to learn and fully capable of
marshalling their resources and focusing their attention on me all of the
time. Yes, they were eager to learn, but 13 year-olds are only slightly
less wiggly than 8 year-olds and then, of course, they have all those
newly emerging hormones running amuck, so it's a crazy time, at best.
BUT, it is also made for some of my most exciting teaching years ever.
Such an energy level to build on. Still, they have to know there are
limits and you have to walk your talk. To this day, even with college
instructors, I question their grading and attendance policies if they
appear unenforceable.
I was attending a student panel of adult college students discussing ways
in which our college could help them transfer to four-year universities
and one of the areas they criticized was our college orientation because
-- get this -- if we thought it was so important (and they thought it was,
too), then how come we didn't REQUIRE it? (We allow students a choice).
There it is again, -- that expectation that if we -- the faculty and
administration -- think it's good for them, then we ought to force them to
do it -- like eating vegetables! It gave me pause.
Anyway, good luck with your classes. 26 adolescents is a real test, but
showing them you care -- by ensuring them an optimum learning environment
-- is all they ask and all they need. Once they know you mean business
and follow through on the expectations you set, then you're in great shape
to take them to the next level where you can be more of a team. Harriett
Harriett J. Robles
hjrobles@aol.com
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