It's the most _____ time of the year. (Just please don't start singing Christmas carols on me...)
You can fill in your own blank. What I want to know is how we've come to such off the wall behavior with the students before we've even made it to Thanksgiving break. Heck, there's no full moon to blame right now, and I know I'm not the only teacher out there struggling. (That is both comforting and frustrating at the same time.)
What's a teacher to do? I promise you, the gray hairs are coming...and my patience is really being tested. What I think the students are missing is respect for (and a healthy dose of fear of) authority. The whole "teacher look" does not work right now - in fact, I can be looking a student in the eye who then will proceed to keep talking after I personally invited him/her to stop. (Ah!)
Sorry, not trying to be Negative Nancy...I just am at a loss. Parent-teacher conferences are coming up this week, but many of the parents I want to see did not sign up. <Fail.>
I'm cautiously optimistic that the whole week we have off for Thanksgiving will be helpful...but there's a part of me that thinks when we get between Thanksgiving and Christmas that there will be no hope whatsoever for getting the students to be respectful participants in the classroom.
I think my prayers have intensified every day. And I'm going to keep revving my prayers up. Whatever it takes...100% every day, no less...
I feel your pain... straight struggles here too (for the most part)
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