August 2008

A fantastic first week

What an improvement from last year.  I’m feeling confident that things are off to a great start.  I set procedures and expectations to a level that will make the entire year better than last year.  I’m being very firm and consistent.  It’s paying off.  My students are quiet and eager to please.  They follow my procedures carefully.  I hardly recognize my classroom this year compared to last year.

Every time I start to think I should let up and allow a little noise to pass unchecked or one broken rule to go unnoticed I think about last year.  I think about the worst days when the principal walked in and winced at the noise level or the days when I cried after the students left.  Those memories strengthen my resolve and I stay consistent.  Consistency was a huge challenge for me last year and this year I am determined to fix that.

It is very hard for me to be consistent

My urge is to give extra chances and reminders.  But clearly that urge didn’t work well last year.  So this year I keep reminding myself that my consequences aren’t bad.  They will not damage the students.  All they will do is reinforce my expectations and make the year easier and more productive for everyone.

The surprising thing is that because I am so fast and consistent this year with giving my first consequence, which is a warning, I have not had to give another reminder.  So far no students earned the second consequence, a ten minute time out.

Once I write that tiny “W” for warning on their behavior slip they stop the behavior.  And the other students take note too and become even more focused themselves.  I know the students will start testing the limits more next week. But this week they simply didn’t act out.  Why wasn’t it this easy last year?

Procedures are making it all work

Compared to last year, I established very structured procedures to start this year.  Harry Wong says that rules are made to be broken but procedures are just how something is done.  My students are proving that to me this year.

Last year I had lax procedures.  I figured that as long as everybody was reasonable we would be okay.  It didn’t work out like I thought and the class was off task more than I was comfortable with.

They were also too noisy.  Not that I’m opposed to noisy work just because of the noise.  I’ve observed successful classes that are louder than my class ever was.  But my classroom has an internal connecting door and limited sound proofing with another classroom and so when my class is noisy it unfairly impacts the students in the other class.  I don’t want to do that.  So staying quieter is one of my goals this year.

To help keep things quiet I thought through all my procedures well in advance of the first day and focused heavily on improving and streamlining transitions.

I have clear procedures for how we get our homework, how we enter the room, how we move to the rug, etc.

I taught the procedures to the class with clear instruction and modeling.  We’ve been practicing all week.  I’m praising them to the point of gushing and taking pictures of when it’s done the right way.  Students love the positive reinforcement of having their picture taken while they are doing something correct.

I will review everything like it’s the first day of school on Monday for extra reinforcement.  In a few weeks, hopefully, we will have it down without thinking about it at all.

This class behaved better in the first week than I think last year’s class ever did.  I’m sure some of it is the new mix of students but I also know that my focus on procedures and being consistent with my rules is a major factor.

It is hard and long (but good) work

Each day this week was at least a 14 hour work day.  Pretty excessive, I admit.  But it’s worth it.  I refused to leave until I completely set up the classroom for the next day.  If I’m fully prepared the students are never waiting for me to be ready, like they did too often last year, so they don’t get distracted and lose focus on academics.  I think (hope) the time commitment will relax as I get into more of a routine for my new processes.

The first day

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my students.  The room is all set up and the lessons for tomorrow are planned.  I have a short to do list for the morning but I am ready to start.

I’m more nervous this year

I think it’s because I know what I did wrong last year and I really don’t want to make the same mistakes again.  It’s stupid because I know I will make a lot of mistakes.  I will even make some mistakes multiple times.

This year I’m more prepared physically.  My room is set up beautifully and I’m more organized than last year.

Last year I had boxes of unorganized stuff shoved under my desk and under a few tables because the closet was full of other stuff.  This year all my unorganized stuff fits in the closet.  Furniture is placed more logically than last year.

So the room is much better.

But mental preparation is different.  Although I am optimistic about this upcoming year I don’t believe that all will go well.

Last year I was too sure of myself and believed everything would fall into place pretty easily.  I’m scared of making dumb moves that will make this year just as hard as last year.

Last year everybody said it would be difficult and I didn’t completely believe them.  I was surprised by how hard it was.

This year everybody says it will be much easier, but still difficult.  So I’m scared of the hard parts because I don’t want it to be harder than I’m prepared for.  I want to be good at this.

I am also worried about the students and their parents.  I have two students who are younger siblings of kids I had last year.  I’m worried that the parents might have a bad impression of me or that they might be confused by some of the differences in how I do things this year.  I’m worried that the kids will come in with the impression that I’m a funny teacher who lets the class get away with too much.

You don’t need to be perfect

The closer I get to tomorrow the more worry is overtaking me.  I’m excited, and I want to meet my students, but I keep thinking of things that I have to make sure to do tomorrow.

I can’t keep letting myself think that the first day will set the whole year in stone.  I know that it sets the tone but I can always adjust if I do something wrong.

I did a lot of that adjusting last year.  Adjusting works.  The last two months of the year were really good and I just have to remember that a mistake isn’t the end of the world.  Fewer mistakes would be better, of course.  But I can’t let myself get worked up over being perfect.  It just isn’t possible.  Worrying over impossible perfection is worse than making a mistake in the first place.

To save precious class time with your students spend a few minutes before the year begins filling out information on forms you’ll need to use during the school day.

Fill in all the information that doesn’t change like your name, grade, and room number.

Now when you need to fill out a nurse pass or referral during the school day that part is already done.

You’ll only have to put the student name, date, and event details.

If the form is a carbon copy, you’ll need to fill in each one ahead of time, but if they are photocopied forms you can fill in the information on the original before you make the copies.

Elementary, My Dear, or Far From It posted an interesting description of a school organization system for math resources. It’s from May but I just found it. The teachers cleaned out the math manipulative library and photographed each manipulative. Then they made a flickr group for the photos.

Each math manipulative photo is posted along with ideas for how to use it in the classroom. Teachers at the school can comment with other uses for the material.

Imagine your school’s resource library with an interactive web based catalogue. You could even link to lesson plans if you wanted to. With enough teachers at your school participating, it could become a very useful collaboration tool. This idea is so different from the dusty disorganized cupboard or closet I’ve seen at so many schools.

I’ve been keeping track of what I need to do to get ready for the school year on a to-do list. It’s easier for me to work from a to-do list, even if it’s really long and detailed. It helps me to focus on one thing at a time because I want to check something off.

Below you can download my list so you can get some idea of the things I’ve been working on.  Who knows, it might even help you think of some things you need to do.  Feel free to modify and share.

Downloads
PDF: to_do_classroom2008.pdf
Word: to_do_classroom2008.doc

The summer is coming to an end and my second year as a teacher is about to begin.  Already I am noticing differences from this time last year.

I’m talking a lot more this year

I have been working with my grade level team a lot this week and I am discovering that I suddenly have a lot more to say!  Last year I was really quiet.  I spent most of the grade level meetings either listening or asking the occasional question, but this year I feel like I’m actually contributing.

I am confident sharing my ideas because I know my opinion is valued by my team members.  I know that I can ask questions, make suggestions, or disagree with something, and it will all be listened to and considered.  My opinions actually have the same weight as the more experienced teachers.  These meetings are making me feel very lucky to be a teacher at my school with my coworkers!

The big difference from last year is that this year I have a sense of what the entire year is going to look like.  I know where we’re headed so I feel safe making suggestions about how to get there.  I can already tell that this year will be a really good one.

I’m prepping my room in a purposeful way

My classroom is coming together well.  I’m working just as hard as last year, but this year it’s all work with a purpose.  This year I know how I want stuff organized.

Looking back at last year, I know I wasted a lot of time simply because I didn’t know what to do with everything.  I had a hard time making decisions and changed my mind a lot.

This year I sat down and made a long to do list of specific tasks.  I have slowly been checking things off.  When I’m in my room I am able to focus on a specific job instead of being overwhelmed and flitting from task to task.

I’m so excited!

The more work I do the more excited I get about the first day of school!  Between the long term planning time with my grade level and the ever increasing organization of my room, I am feeling extremely optimistic about this upcoming year.

I can’t wait to meet my students and start off the year.  I want a chance to practice and refine all of the changes I thought about last year and over this summer.  This year is going to be so much better, and I can’t wait for it to start.