After our Start-of-the-Period Routine, my first period sat quietly as we made a foldable together. They asked pertinent questions about the Discriminant as we colored, cut, and took notes on colored paper.
I then gave them options for two different activities, one of which involves walking around the class and submitting answers on digital responders. The instant I put on Pandora[1], the entire class…
…went to work. Every one of them started one of the activities, grabbed whiteboards to show their work, and murmured quiet calculations in pairs or trios.
“Class, please return to your sea-! Oh… never mind.”
I looked around the class for something to do and I noticed…
…they don’t need me.
And that is how I define a successful class.
The class average for the responders was 90%. All that’s missing to make my class complete heaven is Han Solo giving me a high-five.
[1]The Pandora stations that I use for quiet studying are Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Ludovico Einaudi, and City and Colour (make sure explicit content is turned off).
I’ve written before about how teenagers can be stupid. This post addresses how I combat stupidity with procedure.
Let me address a comment:
My goal is a self-starting classroom. It varies year to year, but it’s pretty consistently what you see below (the black portions remain unchanged day to day, and I write today’s agenda between the squiggly lines.):
Now let me be clear about two things:
Most of those first items are happening at the same time.
It took many weeks of training to get this to run smoothly without me. My special class still requires much prompting.
I have trained my students (through mind-numbing repetition) to pick up whatever papers are on the table by the door as soon as they enter. If there’s no table there, then they pick up nothing.
Then they sit down–papers in hand–and instructions for those papers are on the board.
After the notebook item is folded and glued, the student writes the assignment in her planner. Once the planner is completed, the student moves it to the side of her desk and begins the warm-up.
NOTE: Three key things are happening in the midst of all this:
Each day, I write the names of three random students on the board (pic below). Once they enter class, theyb without my promptingb discuss with each other who will present each problem, get a small whiteboard, and prepare to explain it to the class.
An eight-minute timer is running. Once the timer hits 0:00, it kills the “walk-in-and-get-started” music and plays a siren. That app can be found here for free or here without ads. The student that presents problem #1 stops the siren and begins.
A student patrols the class with a date stamp and my clipboard. This student date-stamps each planner (once the assignment is written down1) and stamps the assignment that is due today (recording the score on my clipboard).
After the timer hits 0:00, here’s what happens:
Student #1 walks to the front of class, stops the timer, and says, “I have #1. First, subtract _____, then divide ____, then _____. The answer is _____. Any questions?”
Class waits for questions, thinking silently, “One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississippi” then applauds for #1, who erases the board and returns to his/her seat
Student #2 stands and presents theirs in the same way.
After clapping for number two2, presenter #3 stands and teaches the class #3.
After the Warm-up, students take guesses at the Jeopardy question of the day.
Also, you can see the breakdown of the class roles for the day.
There’s no pedagogical reason for this. It’s just fun. It only takes 15-30 seconds and is totally worth it. I’m an adult, and still interested in learning fun, useless stuff.
Next comes Good Things; I play a 45-second clip of this song and students chat with each other about “Good Things” going on in their lives. When the song ends, I pick three students to share a “good thing” with the class. Then we clap, because life is good.
As the clapping dies down, I cue the “Take out today’s assignment” song and switch to the document camera. I show the answers and ask for questions, every day reminding the students, “If you copy, copy on a separate page so you can try the problems later to see if you were correct.”
Then I read aloud the goal of the day and advance slides to the Daily Doozyb a college-level problem on the today’s topic. More on that here.
While the Doozy still echoes in their heads, I prompt the next thing that we’re doing3, and our class starts. From start to finish, our pre-lesson routine runs between 15-20 minutes. (…though I should mention that it takes about a half-hour during the first week of school.)
Not only does the routine give me time to fine-tune anything for the day, but it provides a consistent routine and alternate voice of authorityB for the students.
I cannot emphasize enough how important this is: I’m not the one directing them to begin.
Instead of, “Mark, please sit down and take out your planner.” I can say, “Anna, what is everyone else doing right now?”
Or even better, “Damien, the song’s over.”
All of which let the class weed out and re-direct the black sheep.
In closing, I didn’t do all of this at once. I started with one or two things in August, then every few days added a song or another item.
Questions? For quickest response, ask on Twitter or via email.
1 The date stamp is mostly for the parents. The parent says, “He doesn’t write down the homework.” And I say, “Bull Pucky. Here’s a stamp with the date. You just weren’t checking it.” 2 Much like my wife and I will do, when we potty-train our baby. 3 This could be notes, Algebra Tiles, a short video, whatever. By this point in the class, whatever garbage happened during lunch or the passing period has faded to the back of their minds.
In one of my favorite TV shows, Dr. Gaius Baltar is called in to help with questioning a prisoner. He says, “You’ve tried the stick; it’s time to try the carrot.”
That was me two months ago.
But, you know… without the creepy smirk.
Not just sick of detentions, tardies, phone calls, and discipline, I was sick of the time and energy I was giving to the students who earned it the least.
Outside the frame, 29 obedient students are NOT getting the teacher’s attention.
It took my wife to point it out. The conversation went like this:
Vaudrey: I have six students that are consistent behavior problems. If each one gets a warning, a conference outside, and a detention, that’s 18 things.
Hot Wife: Why just send them out right away?
Vaudrey: Well, that’s not fair to those kids. I have to go through my steps.
Hot Wife: Well, it’s not exactly fair to the rest of your students that their education is interrupted by distractors. Also, those rotten kids are getting all of your attention.
Truth Bomb.
So I went to observe another teacher in the district who has SDC students for math support all day. These are students who ALL struggle with math, and a myriad of behavior issues come with it.
She awards her students with poker chips when they are on task.
Let’s just stop there–that’s the change that I made.
Yes, I know that Alfie Kohn wouldn’t be a big fan of a rewards-based system for discipline. Sorry, Alfie–this worked.
Also, not a mathematician.
A roll of tickets is cheaper for me than poker chips, so I went with that. I prepped each class on how the tickets would be awarded and jumped in.
The bell rings, I do a round of tickets for those already on the warm-up.
I play the Notes Song, I do a round of tickets right when it ends to students already noting.
During classwork, I do a round of tickets to those focused.
I started noticing signs of on-task-ness that I hadn’t before: A pencil in hand is the best example.
Fast forward four weeks to today, a minimum day before winter break. Auction Day.
Like this, but with less Levis.
I printed a list of auction items, brought in a cowboy hat (don’t all auctioneers wear those?), and displayed the items attractively on the wall.
I laid down a fairness rule: One item per student.
Then we went to town. This was the highlight:
Ryan (yes, that Ryan) proclaiming, “I’m finna git that Gatorade!” Then, after a student bid four tickets, Ryan screamed, “Thirty-nine!” Then he drank the entire 32 ounces in about 3 minutes. Pointing to his distended stomach, he boasts, “Look! I’m all pregnant!”
Improvements for the next Auction (which will probably be in six weeks):
Use Poker Chips instead.
Which means: Buy individual student bags and one bin per period for those bags to be stored.
Assign a Banker to collect and pass out the bags at the beginning and end of class.
Multiple auction items per student? Maybe.
No poker chips changing hands during the auction. Savvy students who wanted two items gave their tickets to another student and said, “Get those glowsticks for me!”
Kick out students that disrupt. I wanted so badly for this to be fun for everyone that I just spoke louder and louder. I know–I realize how silly it is. But it’s the day before winter break; they were probably going to be difficult anyway.
Some kind of activity to keep those busy who already bought an item. (See previous bullet)
In case anyone is interested, here are the coupons I used.
I pause the Glue Song and ring the tiny bell on the cart.
“People, look over here. This pink paper is LAMIAH, that was yesterday’s homework that I forgot to pass out. Please raise your hand if you need it and Frank will pass it out. This white paper is MARSHALL. Glue MARSHALL and the Warm-up into your Math notebook, please.”
(This is the Glue Song. It’s a sound cue, telling the students that the directions on the board involve glue.)
I hand a pink stack to Frank and put the Glue Song back on. As soon as the music hits their pubescent ears, I am beset by questions.
“Mr. Vaudrey, you forgot to stamp my planner.”
“Mr. Vaudrey, do I glue them on the same page?”
“Mr. Vaudrey, can I get a drink of water? But I’m thirsty!”
“Mr. Vaudrey, can I do number one?”
“Mr. Vaudrey, my dog attacked a rabbit this morning.”
“Mr. Vaudrey, I didn’t get LAMIAH.”
“Mr. Vaudrey, did you hear that? James said he’s gonna hurt me!”
“You need Mark in the office? Thank God.”
I only have 21 students in this class, but each one has specific needs on my time, and any one of them ignored will cause a cavalcade that will corrode the rest of the period.
“Then take your planner out right away so I can see it. I don’t care how you glue them, it’s up to you. You just had lunch. Talk to Maria and Desmond to see which ones they are doing. That’s great; do the warm-up. Frank is passing it out, he’ll be here in a sec. You did the right thing by not responding to him. James, let me speak to you outside.”
It’s possible that the homeless guy in Glendora who talks to himself–seemingly sporadically–is just replaying conversations from when he used to teach middle school.
Typically, when non-teachers actually see my classroom, they exclaim, “Wow. I could never do that.” It makes me feel good; knowing that my six years of skills are beginning to take shape into a career.
But my students are just a different bunch. At least nobody masturbated at their desk today. (Some students have done that in last year’s classes).
The first part of the period is the hopeful part; the class can go either way. Either they will be motivated and hard-working…
… or he will give up, seek distractions, lament “I don’t get it!” with her head on the desk, tuck his head in his shirt and rock back and forth, tell the new girl she’s fat, tell him he can go to hell, tell her to go eat a cheeseburger, he’ll chew gum, claim it isn’t gum, and ask to go to the nurse.
All of which happened in the first 15 minutes of our lesson on Slope.
I have to remind myself (in the moment, especially) that they weren’t born this way. These students are the product of low skills, bad teachers, lazy parents, low-income community, a disinterested school culture, and Hot Cheetos con Limon. Any one of those by itself would be a challenge, and in 4th period, I have a huge cocktail.
Which, coincidentally, is what I’m craving after they leave.
Celebrate the successes and push through the challenges.
Come on, Vaudrey. These kids need learnin’ and you’re just the guy to do it.
There are days when I love my job. Days when I know that some students combated their ignorance with their effort and triumphed. Days when I lay my head on my pillow at night knowing that I did my very best and I changed lives.
Today was not one of those days.
Today was a “Put on Rage Against the Machine and scream at the steering wheel on the way to a church board meeting” days.
(NOTE: That video probably has some swearing in it. So does this post.)
I mean, most of my classes were fine. Kids worked hard, performed well in groups, and built on basic skills AND graphingb a quite successful day.
Except 4th period.
Like a swarm of locusts, they descended on my ramp. Already pushing, yelling, and making inappropriate jokes. I held out my hand for them to shake (as I do every day) and one student flat out refused.
I knew a storm was brewing.
I battened down the hatches and piloted a new game for them, but it was no use. I sent two students to the office before we even finished the warm-up. They made it clear they had no intention of contributing to the class, yet I felt a twinge of regret as I called for their escortb surely I could have done something differently.
The day progressed and three students earned detentions (gum, gum, and continued disruption) before we did our 6 times tables and left.
Then the real show began.
Figure 2: An orderly and respectful classroom
Ryan stayed after school to grudgingly serve his gum detention. I instructed him to move the desks into the configuration I projected on the wall.
b Ib m hungry! I donb t wanna do anything!b
Deep breath. b Ryan, you have two options: You can do 15 minutes with me without complaining or you can do two lunch detenb b
b But Ib m hungry! I donb t wanna do this!b
b Is that your choice then? The two lunch detentions? I can have Ms. Holwood call you out tomorrow to talk about it.b
b b &no.b Ryan stuck up his lip in a perfect teenage sneer. This could have been the cover of Teenage Sneer Monthly.
Figure 3: The “Hiding Gin In A Water Bottle” Issue
b Okay, then. Your two options are 15 minutes with me without complaining or interrupting, or two lunch detentions with Ms. Holwood. Whatb s it gonna be?b
b Here!b
For the next two minutes, Ryan held a desk and wiggled it when I looked his way. Then he acted surprised when I sent him out.
He paused at the door and screamed, b I hate you!b before pounding a chair and my door with his fists and storming down my ramp.
Figure 4: How he felt vs. How he sounded
Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. My students mostly like meb even the ones that dislike me donb t hate me.
I felt like absolute shit for a couple hours, even though experts in teenage defiance (the RSP teacher, my youth pastor wife) assured me that it was just b what they dob .
Doesn’t matter. I felt (and still feel) that I could have done something different to avoid this situation without compromising the order of my classroom.
Oh, well. I have two days without Ryan in my classroom to think about it. Heb s on class suspension pending a parent conference. I guess that means I win.
Sure donb t feel like a winner.
Concerned Parents Against Funfetti
UPDATE 10 October 2012
After a phone conference with dad and a day of class suspension, Ryan and I agreed on a hand signal for him to indicate to me when he is getting angry.
Today’s art project and lesson went swimmingly for all classes (including 4th period sans Ryan). Today I feel like a winner.
A few weeks ago, Fawn Nguyen started a discussion about Standards-Based Grading, where teachers grade based on the mastery of a skill, not based on points and “work”. Below is that conversation (because I covered pretty much everything I have to say about it, for now).
This post is written for teachers. Sorry other readers (Mom), but you will likely be bored by what appears to be a discussion in minutia. Feel free to read on if you’ve a taste for pain.
I couldn’t resist a chance to use this picture.
(Clarifications and links have been added that weren’t in the actual email.)
From: Matt Vaudrey
Hey, Fawn.
I just read your post about starting the year. You’ve clearly done more work for your craft this summer than I have, and I’m curious about how your SBG is going. I tried it with my HS students, but abandoned it when I moved to the Middle School, where “the study skills are important” (my math coach).
From: Fawn Nguyen
Hi Matt, I had to chuckle getting your email because I’m nowhere with SBG! Yes, I’ve read a lot, so lots of things in my head but they all need to be sorted out…
But two things for sure I know I’ll start in 2 weeks:
1. stop grading homework
2. allow test retakes (and test A LOT fewer items, more smaller quizzes, no big chapter tests)
Kids probably think they’re in a “dream” class given these two things.
So, I’ll definitely be “doing” SBG-like stuff, but I just don’t have anything written down yet.
I need to think through the 2 items. Now that you’re asking, let me think aloud:
Homework logistics: 5 to max 10 problems a night, answers posted somewhere (online? outside class?), those who do NOT do them must come in at lunch (or something, but then this kinda punishes me to babysit them during lunch, UGH), periodic homework quiz then?
Test retakes: biggest challenge of making at least 3 versions of a test/quiz. Then how/when/where are retakes held at?
There’s another teacher teaching math, and it’s not fair to her that I decide to go off on SBG on the 11th hour like this. So my compromise is what I’ve stated above, just start with those 2 items. But no rubrics/concept standards yet (FOR SURE I don’t have time to write these this year). Just normal points from “normal” quizzes, just given in smaller chunks…
Good point about middle schoolers and study skills. Hmmmm… come to think of it, just how many MS teachers are doing SBG? The big ones Cornally and Bowman and Shah and Elizabeth and Kate are all high school teachers! Interesting, might throw this out on Twitter to see.
There, you just allowed me to put some thoughts down in writing about SBG more than I ever have 🙂 What are you thinking of doing? So did you even try it at all at the middle school?
From: Matt Vaudrey
Yo, Fawn.
My own experience with SBG was:
at best, a way to minimize work for me while making the grading system easier to understand
at worst, a half-hearted attempt to create an easy final project.
This was a school were any classroom innovation was purely intrinsic, received no praise, no critique, and no acknowledgement. Which is why I left.
Hereb s what I did for one year with no outside input (this was pre-Twitter for me).
No more graded homework. I still go over the answers every day, and if students (I had seniors) wanted to copy, they were more than welcome to.
Every Wednesday (minimum day, 40 minute periods) we had a Homework Quiz, with problems taken off the homework for that week. If they were up to date on the homework, they got 100%, thus boosting their quiz-test scores while demonstrating mastery of key concepts.
Four-point rubrics for everything. That way, a zero for a missing assignment doesnb t tank their grade. (See here for more reading on that.)
Throughout the year, students received b Standards Mastery Sheetsb (see attached) after a test. I checked that these were included in their notebooks, but other than that, I didnb t grade them fully until the end of the semester. As you can see, they had to demonstrate mastery in key concepts, sometimes making up their own problem and explaining the steps.
I had a 5-point rubric for this.
I named each one with an alphabetical name; itb s more fun than b standard 4b .
After I graded them, I laid all of them out and looked for copies. If they copied, they received a zero (BOTH copiers).
Thenb and Ib m pretty proud of thisb I announced to each class, b If you copied or let someone copy, you may come to me now and ask for a fresh one. If you donb t think I caught you, feel free to stay silent. You are dismissed.b
Roughly 60% of the class copied at least one.
I added a grading category for each standard (which took a while) and made a point to create assignments that dealt with one standard at a time. In Trig and Geometry, it was pretty easy to do.
At the end of the semester, when students come by during lunch to ask for extra credit, I point them to the Mastery file and say, b Show me what you know. Your grades for Standard 4 were low, so take DELTA.b
I think it could have gone well if I had stayed at the high school. At the middle school level, they canb t connect the dots between b doing homeworkb and b understanding the topics on the HW Quizb . The high-school students would say out loud in class on Wednesdays, b Shit. I gotta start doing the homework.b
Regarding your re-takes, thatb s a separate issue than SBG, I think. It could be solved by doing 5-question, consecutively numbered quizzes a la Dan Meyer. In my class, students must study at home for 90 minutes observed by a parent or guardianb who sign off on a study log (attached)b before they are allowed a re-take. This dramatically cuts down the number of re-takes. My first year, I had a student who re-took quizzes ad nauseum until he got 100% on every one. I stopped changing the version just because I was sick of it (and was also a terrible teacher).
Fawn concluded our e-mail thread with a short note, mentioning:
Lots of people have lots of questions about SBG because it’s not a one-size-fits-all, (is anything in education?) so the more conversations, the better.
Well put, Mrs. Nguyen.
Below are some more readings on the subject and the attachments that I mentioned.
It’s a phrase that my mom used when I was young. “We’re gonna have a Come to Jesus meeting when you get home about your grades in English.”
A balding preacher springs to my mindb white knuckles gripping the podiumb leaning toward the congregation and flecking the front row with frothy vengeance, screaming, b Turn from thy wickedways!b
Thatb s certainly how I felt on Thursday with my iPad class.
On Wednesday, I got an email from one of the P.E. teachers describing her discontent with my students using their iPads to take pictures, play games, and dick around during P.E. class.
She probably didnb t say b dick aroundb . Thatb s an embellishment.
This emailb copied to my administrators, of courseb gave voice to a sentiment that other teachers were probably feeling; I donb t know what to do with these things.Can I confiscate them? Can I discipline the students for taking them out?
I sent an email apologizing for the students and assuring that I would deal with it. I sent an email with the iPad policies to the whole staff, then cracked my knuckles and waited for the iPad class to stumble unwittingly into 3rd period.
As they entered, I shook everyoneb s hand (as I do every day) and said, b Good morning! Please put your iPad in the cart and have a seat.b
Then I came to my podium.
b Teachers have been complaining about this class. [dramatic pause] They say that you are taking your iPads out in other classes, taking pictures, playing games, and letting other students use them. [dramatic eye contact with the offenders] You all know what the expectations are; you signed a contract and so did your parents. You know what to do, and youb re making me look bad. So today, web re going to practice how to have a class without the iPad, so you know how your other classes should look. Clearly, you need some practice.b
Then I put on a smile and we went through the period. I thought they got the point.
The next day, I caught two different students playing games in my class. I directed them to put their iPads in the cart, and their responses were:
b What? Ib m done already.b
and b Why?b
To the second student, I fixed him with my best teacher stare and asked in a low tone, b Is that a serious question?b
He wisely didnb t respond.
I quite enjoy Halloween. I love to put on a costume and be somebody different for a short while. Itb s not because I donb t like my usual self, but itb s just so fun to be somebody new for a little bit.
Thatb s why Ib m comfortable being a hardass in short installments. I like when everyone in my class is happy, but teachers will tell you that a teacher who is only happy will result in a class that is only unruly.
For those two students, I began taking deep breaths about 10 minutes before the period ended, preparing myself to instill the fear of the Lord in them.
When the class ended, I motioned for those two to wait, and the RSP teacher to also stick around. I brought them over to my desk and showed them a copy of the student/parent contract.
b This is the contract that you and your parent signed. This bullet point says I will use the iPad for academic purposes during school hours in accordance with the rules set forth by MVUSD. You both were well aware of the rulesb especially after our conversation yesterdayb but you chose to break them anyway. In this contract, the penalty is removal from this program and this class. We will have a meeting this weekend to see if you should be removed. Ib ll let you know what we decide on Tuesday. Youb re dismissed.b
Two wide-eyed and trembling teens trudged out the door. Once it closed, I turned to the RSP teacher and asked, b Too much?b
Her eyes were also wide. b No! That was awesome!b
Then I called their parents and gave them the same discussion. I predict two very remorseful students in my 3rd period on Tuesday.
“This is worse than when Nemo died and I had to flush him.”
Furthermoreb and this is the part that my wife doesnb t getb Ib m buying myself an easier year by sacrificing these two little lambs on the altar. Because middle-school students gossip like two old church ladies at bridge club.
You can guarantee that every other student in the class will be terrified to use a game in class, which is exactly what I wanted. Thatb s why I was comfortable wearing the Red-Faced Preacher mask for a few minutes.
So that I can be Happy Math Teacher for the rest of the year.
UPDATE 2013 January 31st: One of the aforementioned little lambs didn’t come to Jesus, and was removed from the course after his next offense a month later.
Ever heard of the John Muir Trail? That (and my wife’s mission trip with her youth group) isB where I’ve been for the last month. Some people have complained, and they need to lighten up.
Mario: “I think [this class] is fair because everyones idea is respected.”
Deja: “It’s fun and I can’t wait to get to this class.”
Sara: “Mr. V grades fairly but is too nice with giving good grades, (not that that’s a bad thing).”
Jose: “I’m fine with my grade because I know I didn’t try my hardest.”
These are the kind of student responses that help me form my class for the next year. I read each one, every year.
The prompt goes something like this:
“Gentlemen and Ladies, you are going to grade me [pause for incredulous exclamations]. I want to know how to be a better teacher, so you’re going to grade me honestly. And don’t spare my feelings. You must fill out the whole thing.
You don’t need to put your name at the top–it can be anonymous if you want. I will read every one of these. Also, if you give me all As or all Fs, I’ll know that you didn’t care and I’ll burn it…laughing while I do.”
As with anything I field a few space-head questions (“Do I put my name on it?” “Can I give you all A’s?”) then turn them loose.
I change up the questions every year, (the 2012 download is at the bottom of this page) and this year, I used a whole back page for short-response questions.
Itb s one last chance for me to squeeze some clarity into their year.
I get authentic, unfiltered assessment straight from the horseb s mouth.
Sometimes itb s cute and flatteringb &
…sometimes it’s sarcastic, but well-mannered*…
b &sometimes itb s legitimate great feedback, andb &
*The “test-day shirt” to which Sara refers is this one, shown here on Crazy Hat Spirit Day (with a student drawing of me wearing it). I wear the Test Shirt every test day (including all 5 State-test days) as a way to lighten the mood for students with test anxiety.
UPDATE 13 July 2012:
Andy‘s right; I should mention what I learned from this experience.
In previous years, I’ve noticed startling trends in theB fairness category. I would consistent low marks when it came to “treating all students the same” or “giving consistent expectations”.B Fortunately, I know the students’ penmanships well enough to ask the class as a whole for further feedback. Some of those chats went like this:
Vaudrey: A lot of people marked me low for fairness. Why do you think that is?
(This is about June–most of them are checked out. Or they know me well enough to know that tactfully, respectful criticism will be well-received)
Maria: Well, sometimes you treat certain students with more second chances.
Jose: Yeah, like when I got detention for talking during the test, but Jamal talks all the time. (Several students nod).
Vaudrey: You’re right; that doesn’t sound fair. Anything else?
If I prove that I won’t get butt-hurt by student feedback, then the class gets a little more bold in their assessments.
Sarah: Sometimes, your morning breath is really bad.
Drew: Yeah, like dog crap.
Vaudrey: Whoa! We’re getting a little carried away. Sarah, thanks for your honesty. Drew, keep in mind that we’re focusing on improving my class, okay? Anybody else?
In full disclosure, here’s what I learned from this year’s reports:
Middle school students have much less to bitch about than high school students.
About 15-20% of students would like more explanation on tough topics. Nobody said my teaching pace was too slow.
Most of the students liked my class. A few studentsB really liked my class. That felt good.
I’m doing a better job of treating all students fairly. (That sample conversation was from a few years back.)
For next year, I should teach more closely to the standards, so students see common questions beforeB the test.
For next year, I should keep the class under tighter control. In recent years, I’ve slacked on classroom management because I taught seniors. Eighth graders need a little heavier hand.
My wife asks every day how my day was, and a common response is “regular”. It’s not a dynamic way to start my response, but I’m quite thankful for my new job, and “regular” doesn’t mean what it used to. My wife probably got tired of hearing “stressful, exhausting, frustrating, and I wanna quit” when asking about my day.
Also, I love that a “regular” day still involves me laughing during every class. How many of us have jobs where you get a good laugh every couple hours?
Here are a couple all-stars from today:
Carl: I’m a vegan now.
Trey: You hate meat!
Linda: Why do you hate meat?
Julia: I thought vegans were hippies.
Mr. Vaudrey: Okay, everyone stop. Carl, explain what a vegan is.
Carl: Well, I can’t eat things with dairy in them, like bread, like pizza, like chocolate…
Ladariana: …like La-Dairy-ana.
Nathan: Aw! You gave me dumb crayons! I want the blue one, not the black one.
Jay (in his best tough-guy voice): Was’ wrong wit’ black?!
(It should be noted that Jay is about 70 pounds, has braces, glasses, a super smile, brags about his mom’s cooking, and takes Gifted classes. He’s not quite a thug.)
Sam: Mr. Vaudrey, I’m out of bathroom passes, so can I, like, stay a minute after class or something? I really gotta go.
See? Even a “regular” day is delightful.
Also, it took me about 21 seconds to submit my grades. No printing, no signing, no amendments or second-guessing. I love my new job.
In closing, here’s a photo of some actual work I did today.
