Week two is over...

A major struggle in my classroom is striking a balance between being fair and being consistent. I have a set of rules but can I honestly be expected to enforce them all, 100% of the time? The kids eat a little candy, somebody keeps tapping on the desk, another one is secretly texting on their phone and all this while the two or three knuckleheads in the back corner continue to chat and giggle long after the 10th time I've politely asked them to be quiet so I can hear myself think.

My inexperience is showing and I know it. I want to be friendly because that's just the type of person I am, but I have to let them know that I'm won't tolerate certain behavior. I think some of the kids believe I'm all talk with nothing to back it up with. Somebody told me to make an example of just one of them and see what a difference it makes.

On a lighter note, I've been interweaving some geography and history into my lessons. It's good to break up the grammar and vocab with stuff like this, plus I enjoy these types of subjects. So if I can get even one kid thinking about something new and interesting for that day, then it makes the hardships partially worth while.

Blog posted by September writer Charles Detmar, spanish teacher Glenn High School in Kernersville

Well, I survived my first week of teaching. By survived I mean I haven't quit my job yet. I don't plan to either but it's been mentally and physically challenging for sure. Seeing that I came into this gig with absolutely no idea how to run a successful teaching enterprise, no clue how to manage 25 teenagers in one room, no idea how they would view me when I'm up there...I think I've done pretty well so far.

From what I have surmised thus far, the hard part of teaching is not the actual teaching. It's the discipline, planning, and organization that makes it rough. I had very little time from the first workday until the first day of classes to actually do any of the latter two. I've basically just had to chip away at that mountain little by little each day. I plan for tomorrow today and if I'm lucky, the day after that.

The discipline issue is a beast of it's own. The problem at Glenn is that, at least in the Spanish Dept., the previous year's program was less than stellar. This is what I've heard from various faculty and students. This translates to many of the Spanish II kids being lost, not having learned what they needed to in Spanish I. They also think that the foreign language classroom is for talking and goofing off. Spanish I kids are much better because I have no expectations of them as far as the subject knowledge goes...so this is where us new Spanish teachers can properly prepare them for level II.

The days are long, I often stay an extra hour and a half. I haven't even begun to think about substitute lesson plans, progress reports, or the myriad of other minutia that we are expected to keep up with on the administrative side. At the end of the day, it's supposed to be just me, the kids, and the classroom. The reality of teaching involves so much more though. In fact, I'd venture to say it's one of the most complex occupations on the planet. So whoever says, "Those who can't do, teach."...I say to you, "Those who've never taught, shut up."

Blog posted by September writer Charles Detmar, spanish teacher Glenn High School in Kernersville