The Accidental Teacher: Bang Their Heads Together: Chapter 2

We came in from recess like any other day. As we entered the room Q and M, who were walking on my right and left, just started swinging at each other with everything they had. I yelled, "Stop!" At the same time  I tried to push them apart and ended up holding them up on the wall by their necks. They kept trying to hit each other and we're demanding, "Let me down!"

I asked, "Are you going to stop hitting each other?" 

Both Q and M sputtered out, "No!" 

"Then I'm not letting you down!" I explained. Finally after a few minutes they finally stopped swinging. 

I decided that their punishment would be sitting together for a week. At a table that was about four feet wide they must of been six feet apart. I had told them that for the entire week if one got in trouble, they both got in trouble. For the first few days, every time I turned around I heard, "Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!" When I looked back at them they would be there, sitting still, as far apart as they could be. 

About half way through the week after dismissing the kids an older lady (Q's grandmother I believe, she never actually introduced herself.) walked up to me and demanded, "What you doing sittin' two boys together knowing they're just pound each other every time you turn around?"

I told her, "Well, ma'am, I figure I can't bang their heads together, so I might as well let them do it for me."

She leaned back, started to laugh and said, "You're a pretty smart man!"  As she walked away laughing, she shook her head saying, "Let them bang their heads together for me. You're a smart man. That's the funniest they I've heard in a long time!"

I never saw her again and Q and M hardly looked at each other for the rest of the year. 

That was long ago and a different era in education. That method didn't work for all kids who fought, for example "fightin' friends". Fightin' friends fight, busting each others lips popping each other in the eye, but, in fifteen minutes they're laughing and messing off like nothing happened. But, for Q and M, sitting together taught them to leave each other alone. 

Online teaching: week 3

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Wow, I am not sure if I have graded that much slopp in a like 21 years! I can not believe how many kids do not know how to use the spell check feature. About as many people who don't know how to use the turn signal feature on their moving vehicles!!! 

The online environment is not much different than the in-class seating as far as attendance is concerned. Some kids just are not motivated no matter what you do.  

I think most of the students are turning in pretty good work. 
 Ok, I am going to see if any adults can do this.
http://picasaweb.google.com/117118145137155948677/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCIyG2dXD0-7WGQ#5491682928204834690


Click, read and respond.

Let's Make a Deal

OK campers, the natives are restless and we are making our way to the home stretch. The hot topic around the virtual cooler is what to do with the kids who have already decided to check out? You know the ones that the not so all wise counselor decided to tell them with a month left in school that the stand a snowballs chance in hell of graduating and walking the stage. The parents send them to school because they can't afford a big-babysitter.  I myself try the Let's Make a Deal Approach because the object is to get them to learn as much as they can and are willing to learn.

If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

A Day Off….Campus

Off-campus training can be nice sometimes. Yesterday was almost one of those days. The speaker was great, my colleagues were good, and it was at a local school so I didn’t have very far to drive. But, with all the cut backs we had to have the meeting at a local school auditorium and buy our own lunch. They did have coffee, well, the teacher’s cafeteria version of a coffee-like substance. The seats were hard, cold metal.

Now, I guess I am like Bilbo Baguns, reaching middle age and beginning to be stout. So, being subjected to sitting in a cold, hard metal chair is more of a torture experience than anything else. I just might agree to anything after a couple of hours in one of those devises.

One thing the speaker said that I thought was timely was that we as teachers often forget that our attitude often dictates the mood of the class. She is from the south and in their state they don’t have a union and a surplus of teachers. Her point was that in light of the current economic state we should all be thankful that we have jobs. She’s right. Even in my state and district where we have a union, there are bills being passed that will make it easier to cleanse schools/districts of underperforming teachers.

By-the-way, the training was on discipline. Good stuff.

I am blessed to work at a pretty good school. Most of the staff plays well with others and tries to get along and help each other. I do thank my God, for a job.