Tuesday, January 20, 2004
What a day. Teaching at this time of the year can get very frustrating. There are things that I'd like for my students to be able to do by the end of the year that I can tell that they just aren't going to be able to accomplish. It's sad, because they're already behind, and they need to step up and put more effort into themselves. I'm getting ready to try some new stuff. What I'm doing obviously isn't working, as far as classroom management goes, so I need to change. If I'm doing the same thing and expecting different results, that's crazy, right? The thing with so many of these children is the brain inside the head; I can tell that there is one. I just don't seem to be reaching it for that many of the kids. I spend more time trying to get one or two of the class to go where they need to be than I ever do in teaching. It's unfair to the children who are actually interested. It makes me very angry, sometimes. The behavior of that one ruins the chance of an education for everyone else. I never taught in the days of the "hickory stick," but I can tell that some of these students might do better in such an environment. A few strokes to make sure that they know they are to be behaving properly would certainly be a comfort.
