Having returned to high school teaching after a four year hiatus of teaching in Middle School, I was given an advisory filled with students who I would not be teaching but rather just trying to manage once a day. The task got easier as the year progresses as the students increases their truancy behavior but the first few days went like this:
It was my second day of homeroom, or what we now call advisory. I was trying my best to advise and establish my authority simultaneously. We all know a teacher cannot be a student’s ‘friend’; mentor yes, but friend, no (at least until they graduate high school then if I liked you, ‘sure, find me on Facebook’) There are eight children, young adults, learners, what we used to call students in my room. . . eight out of the thirty listed on my role sheet. We are in an ‘extended advisory’ so that the school can accommodate walk ins, so that students can fill out roster change forms, so that we can be sure all of our learners will be where they need to be to complete, compete and succeed, so that we are sure to have 'left no one behind,' so that we can 'win the race', so we can get to the top. The students before me are not happy to be here. They have all completed a year of high school and yet they are again in a ninth grade advisory. Is this a scheme to leave them behind? This one went to summer school and passed. Another went to a charter school and failed (“75 was an F!”) About our school, one girl claims, “ I missed three days”...and they failed me”. Each one has a story, a defense, a reason, an excuse. I was trying to be sympathetic, while helping them to fill out the necessary papers while still of course asserting my rather new authority. I am a seasoned teacher, they are seasoned students, but we are all new to each other on this second day. And did I mention that most of them are angry?
This advisory took place in another teacher’s classroom. Our building is too small to accommodate a separate space for each class of students. So, a teacher must give up her space during her preparation period to make it work. She can leave, carting all her stuff to the cafeteria or library hoping she has not forgotten something essential to the optimization of her production in this window of time called prep (fought hard, and won for back in 1972) or she can stay in her room and try to work through the background noise of the invaders. My host teacher has decided to stay. She allows no eating in her classroom, “... no, not even pumpkin seeds. . . especially not pumpkin seeds!” I continue to try to assert my authority, my authority about her rules. The third time the skinny little boy takes out his pumpkin seeds to share, I lose it a bit, I raise my voice, I sound angry; not good, now they are all mad, too. This is the very moment, the principal’s voice comes over the loud speaker: morning announcements, things we all need to hear. They’d gone OK yesterday. "Please rise for the pledge". No one does. Attempt to assert authority, “You must stand even if you don’t pledge! Two stand. Again, “ Stand now!" Nasty things said. The one I remember or hear too clearly amongst the blather: “I’m not standing, I don’t support America, I want to go fight for Iraq! ”
I suppose this is our fault. We have left them behind.
Between the Chairs
It was my second day of homeroom, or what we now call advisory. I was trying my best to advise and establish my authority simultaneously. We all know a teacher cannot be a student’s ‘friend’; mentor yes, but friend, no (at least until they graduate high school then if I liked you, ‘sure, find me on Facebook’) There are eight children, young adults, learners, what we used to call students in my room. . . eight out of the thirty listed on my role sheet. We are in an ‘extended advisory’ so that the school can accommodate walk ins, so that students can fill out roster change forms, so that we can be sure all of our learners will be where they need to be to complete, compete and succeed, so that we are sure to have 'left no one behind,' so that we can 'win the race', so we can get to the top. The students before me are not happy to be here. They have all completed a year of high school and yet they are again in a ninth grade advisory. Is this a scheme to leave them behind? This one went to summer school and passed. Another went to a charter school and failed (“75 was an F!”) About our school, one girl claims, “ I missed three days”...and they failed me”. Each one has a story, a defense, a reason, an excuse. I was trying to be sympathetic, while helping them to fill out the necessary papers while still of course asserting my rather new authority. I am a seasoned teacher, they are seasoned students, but we are all new to each other on this second day. And did I mention that most of them are angry?
This advisory took place in another teacher’s classroom. Our building is too small to accommodate a separate space for each class of students. So, a teacher must give up her space during her preparation period to make it work. She can leave, carting all her stuff to the cafeteria or library hoping she has not forgotten something essential to the optimization of her production in this window of time called prep (fought hard, and won for back in 1972) or she can stay in her room and try to work through the background noise of the invaders. My host teacher has decided to stay. She allows no eating in her classroom, “... no, not even pumpkin seeds. . . especially not pumpkin seeds!” I continue to try to assert my authority, my authority about her rules. The third time the skinny little boy takes out his pumpkin seeds to share, I lose it a bit, I raise my voice, I sound angry; not good, now they are all mad, too. This is the very moment, the principal’s voice comes over the loud speaker: morning announcements, things we all need to hear. They’d gone OK yesterday. "Please rise for the pledge". No one does. Attempt to assert authority, “You must stand even if you don’t pledge! Two stand. Again, “ Stand now!" Nasty things said. The one I remember or hear too clearly amongst the blather: “I’m not standing, I don’t support America, I want to go fight for Iraq! ”
I suppose this is our fault. We have left them behind.
