Third Week of School - Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Today I graded some reading comprehension papers from the students, and I asked Mr. M if it would be OK if I returned the papers to them. This gave me the opportunity to make some general comments about the papers, some of the issues that I thought they were struggling with (e.g., capitalization, punctuation) but more importantly to convey to them that I was not just another adult presence in the room, but that I would be teaching AND assessing them. On Monday, I'm not sure all of the kids actually believed that I was something more than a substitute teacher, so this really drove the point home.

Also, I find that reading assignments is another really way of getting to know the students, from their handwriting, neatness, spelling, but most importantly how they express themselves. It adds dimensions to their classroom personalities.

Unfortunately, Mr. M had to address the sixth-graders and tell them that their behavior the past few days left a lot to be desired. He spoke to them honestly about his disappointment and frustrations, but he also spoke to them (for the most part) as "adults," but tempered with the knowledge that they are 10 and 11 years old. He told them that he expected them to act as role models for the fifth graders in the class. Later he explained to me that he felt there was too much casualness and disrespect in the classroom and he wanted to nip the problem in the bud. I thought he handled the situation really well, but it was still a somewhat uncomfortable moment, and I could only wonder how I would handle that situation, although Mr. M gave me great insight into how I might.